c 

P93uU 
1894 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


c 

P93uU 


1894 


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HISTOJ^y 


OF 


Ttio   ©lass  of  '94 


OF 


F^i^ijMeeTojv  UNivei^siTy. 


-®-^ 


BY 

cJoHN   A\cGlLL  White.  Pennsylvania. 

Robert  Perkins  cJack,  Illinois, 

Historians. 


Philadelphia  : 

Press  of  Allen,  Lane  &  Scott. 

1894. 


i4 


P13 


TO    THE 

MEMBERS    OF    THE 

WIDELY-RENOWNED    AND 

EVERGLORIOUS   ClASS    OF   '  NiNETY-FoUR, 

THEIR    CHILDREN    AND  THEIR    CHILDREN'S    CHILDREN, 

YEA,    EVEN    UNTO    THE    THIRD    AND    FOURTH 

GENERATION,    THIS    BOOK    IS 

AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 


3 

o 

en 


CHAPTER    1 


FRESHMAN    YEAR 


FRESHMAN    YEAR. 

As  IS  recorded  in  the  annals  of  this  venerable  institution, 
Princeton  never  opened  more  auspiciously  than  on  that  Wed- 
nesday in  the  middle  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety.  This  is  the  usual  sentiment 
employed  in  such  publications  as  the  one  upon  which  we 
are  engaged,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  start 
out  in  lines  conforming  to  immemorial  usage  and  the  cus- 
tom of  the  community. 

But  really  we  were  a  noble  lot !  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
did  we  number  in  our  ranks,  of  all  ages,  sizes,  and  consist- 
encies ;  from  the  big  guns  direct  from  the  great  preparatory 
schools  to  the  harmless  little  youths  from  the  far  West  and 
sunny  South.  A  few  favored  ones,  blessed  by  the  Fates  and 
endowed  with  an  abundance  of  brains,  were  in  that  blissful 
state  known  as  '^  unconditioned  ;  "  many,  many  more,  alas  ! 
had  those  gentle  reminders  of  the  entrance  examinations, 
granted  them  by  the  Faculty,  which  are  signified  by  a  star 
in  the  catalogue ;  while  a  small  band  of  wretched  mortals 
were  "  on  trial."  Of  this  latter  category  let  it  suffice  to  say 
that  the  aforesaid  trials  had  a  way  of  turning  out  unfavor- 
ably for  the  defendants,  and  we  missed  from  time  to  time 
one  and  another  of  them  from  our  midst,  whose  fathers  were 
unwilling  to  have  them  linger  here,  but  needed  them  at 
home  to  help  run  the  business. 

(7) 


8  HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Gaddy  Drake,  Eads  Andrews,  and  Ed  Wright  were  the 
first  men  on  the  ground.  Gaddy  has  always  asserted  that 
he  came  on  early  to  get  out  all  the  base-ball  material  in  the 
Class,  and  that  Eads  and  Ed  were  his  assistants.  Some  of 
the  fellows  still  believe  that  this  ^' big  3  "  in  base-ball  circles 
were  laboring  under  conditions,  though  perhaps  the  word 
'^  labor "  is  not  the  proper  term  to  use  for  their  mental 
exercises.  They  w^ere  rooming  up  in  Carpenter's  until  Col- 
lege opened,  and  had  nightly  receptions  for  all  the  Sopho- 
mores in  town. 

On  the  Saturday  before  College  opened,  Grier  and  Herb 
Fisher  drifted  into  town,  having  come  on  direct  from 
"  Peory,"  Illinois.  Grier  always  did  like  to  get  an  early 
start,  and  so  arrived  in  town  four  days  ahead  of  time. 
These  tw^o  had  also  engaged  rooms  at  Carpenter's,  and 
w^ere  warmly  welcomed  by  the  base-ball  magnates ;  Ed 
Wright  informing  them  that  he'd  been  play  in'  centre  field 
now  for  six  years,  and  had  a  cinch  on  de  'Varsity.  ^'  Didn't 
have  an  error  all  last  season.     See  I  " 

Sunday  evening,  about  ten  o'clock,  Gaddy  dropped  in 
on  Fish  and  Grier,  and"  extended  them  a  cordial  invitation 
to  join  in  a  little  game  of  poker. 

Now  Fish  is  a  long-suffering  youth,  of  even  temper  and 
few  words,  but  the  idea  of  playing  poker  on  Sunday  even- 
ings was  just  one  more  than  he  could  stand.  Rising  up  in 
his  dignity  to  a  full  five  feet  eight,  and  putting  a  minis- 
terial look  upon  his  countenance,  he  proceeded  to  read 
Gaddy  a  sermon  upon  the  evils  of  gambling  and  the  sacred- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  9 

ness  of  the  Sabbath,  which  has  never  been  forgotten  by  the 
favored  few  that  were  present,  and  which  might  serve  as  a 
type  for  many  a  discourse  in  Marquand  Chapel. 

Little  Tommie  Thompson  was  in  town  among  the  fore- 
most, and  gave  us  all  graphic  accounts  of  the  foot-ball 
giants  and  base-ball  fiends  and  mighty  track  athletes  who 
were  entering.  We  all  looked  upon  Tommie  as  one  speak- 
ing with  authority,  thinking  that  he  must  have  inside  tips 
from  all  the  big  men  in  the  nation. 

But  somehow  or  other  very  few  of  his  mighty  men  of 
valor  ever  materialized.  Ernie  Ramsdell  was  to  him  a  little 
tin  god,  and  when  his  idol  would  stop  to  speak  to  him  on 
the  campus  he  was  the  proudest  man  in  "  Xew  Jersee." 

Dowkontt  also  favored  Princeton  during  this  period, 
busy,  as  usual,  in  taking  examinations.  In  the  two  years 
which  "  Dook "  tarried  with  us,  he  probably  acquired  a 
better  knowledge  of  our  examination  system  than  any  man 
in  existence  except  Billy  Meredith. 

Monday  brought  with  it  a  sample  of  nasty  weather,  and 
incidentally  a  large  number  of  would-be  Freshmen,  while 
by  the  Wednesday  upon  which  College  opened  the  great 
bulk  of  our  Class  had  appeared.  And,  truly,  we  were  a 
queer  assortment.  David  Paul  Burleigh  Conkling,  with 
five  trunks,  a  valet,  and  a  hound  dog,  came  on  the  same 
train  with  ''  Farmer  "  McCauley  from  up  in  York  State, 
who  swore  he  wouldn't  pay  no  nigger  two  shillin's  to 
lug  his  carpet-bag  a  furlong.  Our  well-beloved  "  Adonis  " 
Jenney  marched  up  University   Place  with  '^  Blue  Jeans" 


10  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Dickey,  arm  in  arm.  The  two  had  "  preped  "  at  that  quiet 
little  school  up  at  Kingston,  and  had  intended  to  be  bosom 
companions,  room-mates,  and  everything  else  that  is  nice ; 
but  Dick  soon  discovered  that  Jen  wasn't  the  innocent  boy 
that  he  once  knew,  for  he  began  to  run  with  Jack  Bushnell 
and  Harold  McMillan,  and  finally  acquired  the  cigarette 
habit.     Alas  !  how  have  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

There  was  Billy  Fisk  from  Massachusetts  and  Ed  Rus- 
sell from  California;  "Mistah  Peppah  "  from  the  South 
and  Bill  Doty,  the  breezy  Chicagoan.  From  Egypt,  from 
India,  from  Ireland,  from  Philadelphia,  and  from  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  were  we  gathered  to  spend  a  short 
four  years  within  these  classic  shades. 

But  perhaps  the  biggest  men  in  our  Class  in  those  early 
days  were  the  ''two  Riggses."  They  were  followed  through 
campus  and  street  by  a  throng  of  admirers,  who  sang  their 
praises  long  and  loud.  Within  two  days  we  all  knew  that 
Harry  was  the  one  with  the  scar  under  his  chin  and  Frank 
was  the  other.  Thomas,  the  third  Riggs,  completed  the 
outfit.  He  was  from  Washington  and  was  related  to  the 
twins.  Taken  altogether,  the  Riggses  were  at  first  a  terror 
to  Sophomores,  for  they  came  of  a  long  line  of  scrappers 
and  had  licked  everybody  in  Baltimore. 

It  was  announced  that  there  would  be  a  meeting  of  the 
Class  on  Wednesday  noon  for  the  election  of  officers. 

It  was  right  here  that  the  "  Riggs  gang  "  began  that 
foxy  work  which  has  made  them  so  famous.  Couriers  were 
sent  riding  post  haste  through  the  town  to  warn  us  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  11 

grasping  nature  of  the  Lawrenceville  crowd,  who  were 
banded  together  with  the  aim  of  swiping  all  the  offices. 
"There  are  forty  or  fifty  Lawrenceville  men  in  the  Class. 
Do  not  let  them  rule  five  times  their  number.  Let  us  not 
submit,  but  stick  together  and  turn  them  down."  This  was 
their  message. 

When  the  meeting  was  assembled  the  old  chapel,  pretty 
comfortably  filled,  resounded  with  the  shouts  of  opposing 
factions  and  Avitli  the  cat-calls  of  the  terrible  Sophomores, 
who  kept  up  a  continual  disturbance  from  without. 

We  were  addressed  by  members  of  'Ninety-two,  who 
took  a  fatherly  interest  in  our  attempts  to  be  collegians,  and 
told  us  everything  that  we  ought  to  do,  in  this  respect  differ- 
ing widely  from  'Xinety-three,  who  made  us  aware  of  the 
fact  that  we  must  not  do  anything  except  what  they  told  us 
was  allowable  and  customary. 

When  it  came  for  nomination  for  President  everybody 
who  had  a  friend  nominated  him ;  and  they  do  say  that 
Rankin  nominated  himself,  though  he  rejects  the  insinua- 
tion with  scorn.  We  called  for  the  candidates  to  show^ 
themselves,  and  so  about  fifteen  of  our  choicest  spirits 
stepped  up  on  the  platform. 

They  were  a  goodly  lot  to  look  upon,  but  the  real  con- 
test lay  between  Tom  Bailey  and  Harry  Riggs.  Xow  we 
all  liked  Tom's  looks.  He  had  a  noble  brow,  a  bulging 
chest,  and  a  sweet  smile.  He  wore  good  clothes,  and  yet 
withal  was  no  ''  New  York  dude."  He  was  dignified — dig- 
nity personified ;  but  Tom  would  never  pass  a  class-mate 


12  HISTORY    OP    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

without  a  kind  word  or  gentle  look.  But  be  was  from 
Lawrenceville,  and  belonged  to  tbe  arrogant  crew  wbo 
wanted  to  run  tbe  Class,  and  so  we  would  not  be  swayed 
by  appearances,  but  voted  for  the  other  man. 

Ernie  Ramsdell,  Billy  Meredith,  and  Joe  Guffy  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  run  athletics,  and  after  Gaddy 
Drake  had  led  cheers  for  'Ninety-two,  'Ninety-four,  our 
President,  our  athletic  committee,  and  a  few  others,  we 
proceeded  to  adjourn. 

This  was  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  entire  meeting, 
as  the  whole  Sophomore  Class  was  lined  up  in  front  of  the 
doors  to  give  us  a  warm  reception.  With  hats  in  pockets 
and  clenclied  fists  we  burst  them  asunder  and  skipped  to 
our  rooms,  pursued  by  a  howling  mob. 

That  afternoon  the  Class  came  out  for  base-ball  prac- 
tice. The  collective  term  is  used,  because  every  man  in 
the  Class  except  Wailes,  who  had  to  study,  and  Dick  Streit, 
who  was  afraid  the  Sophs  would  chase  him,  put  in  an 
appearance.  Most  of  us  couldn't  catch  a  balloon,  but  of 
course  that  made  little  diiference.  The  selection  was  made 
upon  strictly  impartial  lines,  for  only  those  who  had  full 
suits  were  asked  to  practice  again.  Chip  McKenzie  didn't 
have  a  ball  suit  at  that  time,  and  though  he  knew  how  to 
play  the  game  fairly  well,  he  couldn't  make  the  team  until 
the  Spring.  Our  team  was  a  glorious  aggregation !  They 
succeeded  in  losing  three  games  out  of  a  possible  three,  thus 
having  an  average  of  one  thousand. 

We   did   not   mind    being   beaten   by  'Ninety-one   and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  13 

'Ninety-two,  as  it  was  only  proper  that  we  should  succumb 
to  the  upper  classmen,  but  the  defeat  at  the  hands  of  'Ninety- 
three  was  galling,  as  some  of  us  had  already  obtained  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  them,  and  were  led  to  believe 
that  they  were  unkind  as  a  rule,  in  not  appreciating  our 
dignity  as  Undergraduates. 

The  game  itself  was  a  very  pretty  exhibition  of  fine 
playing,  and  it  would  have  gone  down  to  posterity  if  the 
score  had  only  been  reversed.  Still,  as  Van  Benthuysen  said 
afterwards,  ''  The  score,  four  to  one,  evidences  that  the  con- 
test was  both  close  and  exciting.  It  was,  on  the  whole, 
a  highly  creditable  performance."  This  verdict  was  an- 
nounced to  the  team,  with  the  result  of  bringing  back  con- 
solation to  their  hearts.  They  knew  the  Class  sympathized 
with  them. 

Our  nine  was  as  follows  : — 

Drake .    .  Pitcher. 

Humphrey Catcher. 

Young First  base. 

Andrews Second  base. 

Chamberlain Third  base. 

Ramsdell Short  stop. 

Spooner  (captain) Left  field. 

Wright Centre  field. 

CoppEL     .    .        . Right  field. 

Of  course  horse-play  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  while 
as  Freshmen  we  were  harmless,  as  it  behooved  us  to  be,  it 
by  no  means  follows  that  we  were  noiseless.  We  had 
been  practicing  cheering  on  the  quiet,  and  so  made  a  very 


14  HISTORY  OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94 

respectable  volume  of  sound,  in  which  one  could  easily 
tell  that  we  were  all  trying  to  yell  the  same  thing. 

There  were  one  or  two  unpleasant  incidents  which 
marred  the  serenity  of  the  game.  Phil  King,  who  was 
playing  second  base  for  the  Sophomores,  was  jeered  at  by 
some  of  our  bolder  spirits  as  he  stepped  out  on  the  field. 
He  at  once  stopped,  approached  the  bleachers,  and  cordially 
invited  the  man  who  spoke  to  him  to  step  down  and  have  it 
out,  for  the  honor  of  their  respective  classes. 

About  this  time  it  was  an  impossibility  to  find  out  w^ho 
had  said  anything  to  the  gentleman.  Harry  Riggs  could 
not  go,  as  he  was  our  President,  and  Frank  would  not,  lest 
people  should  take  him  for  Harry.  In  either  case  the 
dignity  of  'Ninety-four  would  be  lowered.  All  the  big  men 
in  the  Class  discovered  that  they  were  in  training  for  the 
foot-ball  team,  and  the  little  men  were  unwilling  to  push 
themselves  into  a  place  of  too  much  prominence.  The 
disturbance  was  finally  pacified  by  Bill  Leggitt. 

The  Sophomores  had  been  very  active  ever  since  the 
opening  of  College.  In  fact.  Ninety-three  was  probably  as 
energetic  a  class  along  certain  lines  as  ever  existed.  One  of 
the  branches,  in  which  they  were  particularly  expert,  was 
hazing.  They  certainly  were  a  bold,  bad  lot,  and  kept  at 
us  remorselessly  until  nearly  the  middle  of  November. 
Taking  off  our  hats  upon  meeting  a  Sophomore  got  to  be 
a  second  nature  with  us.  We  expected  to  be  shoved  into 
the  gutter  if  there  was  a  gutter  within  ten  yards.  Nearly 
all  of  us  got  into  some  kind  of  trouble  or  another.    ''Brick " 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  15 

Turner,  from  Iowa,  Avas  one  of  the  first  to  make  himself 
notorious.  He  was  overtaken  one  afternoon  soon  after  Col- 
lege opened,  on  Nassau  Street,  by  a  crowd  of  a  dozen  or 
more  of  our  tormentors,  and  requested  to  step  into  Hankins' 
and  set  up  the  cigars.  "  Brick  "  didn't  say  a  word,  neither 
did  he  move,  but  stuck  that  massive  lower  jaw  of  his  into 
the  air,  and  was  suffused  as  to  his  countenance  with  a  broad 
grin.  There  is  something  tantalizing  about  that  face  of 
Turner's  when  he  indulges  in  one  of  these  contortions,  and 
it  angered  the  Sophomores.  To  use- plain  language,  they 
were  mad.  One  little  fellow,  relying  in  the  strength  of 
numbers,  approached  the  poor  Freshman  in  a  menacing 
attitude,  and  was  smote  upon  the  face  for  his  trouble. 
How  "  Brick"  escaped  from  that  crowd  he  has  never  been 
able  to  explain,  but  fifteen  minutes  later  a  red-headed  youth 
was  to  be  seen  fleeing  across  the  campus  coatless,  vestless, 
collarless,  suspenderless,  "  et  cetera  ad  infinitum.''^ 

''Curley"  Curran  and  "Dog"  Blair  were  escorted  one 
fine  evening  down  to  the  canal  by  one  gang,  where  they 
were  compelled  to  do  the  ''  coon  and  dog  "  act.  Curran,  the 
coon,  was  pushed  up  a  big  tree,  while  Blair  barked  around 
its  base,  upon  the  ground.  Finally  the  boys  were  asked  to 
sing  a  duet,  and  on  their  complying  their  persecutors  fled 
in  terror,  and  the  moon  hid  behind  a  dark  cloud,  leaving 
them  to  flounder  through  the  swamps  in  the  darkness.  '  The 
same  night  another  crowd  were  taken  out  to  the  water- 
tower  and  put  through  all  sorts  of  antics.  Jim  Gibson  was 
shut  up  in  the  man-hole  and  fainted  from  sheer  fright. 


16  HISTORY    OP    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Aroused  and  outraged  by  this  treatment  the  Freshmen 
were  only  too  willing  for  the  big  rush  which  occurred  late 
in  September. 

The  Class  began  to  gather  one  dark  night  upon  Nassau 
Street,  and  by  eight  o'clock  nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy 
of  us  were  lined  up,  four  abreast,  with  interlocked  arms. 
We  marched  down  Nassau  Street,  and  coming  around  the 
scientific  building  saw  our  enemies  drawn  up  in  battle-array 
behind  '^  Old  North."  We  could  restrain  our  pent-up  feel- 
ings no  longer,  and  with  a  yell  hurled  our  human  battering 
ram  at  their  ranks.  Their  proceedings  were  similar  in  every 
respect,  and  the  two  bands  crashed  together.  The  first  two 
or  three  ranks  on  both  were  shot  up  into  the  air  by  the  force 
of  the  compact,  and  came  down  in  one  big  heap,  slugging 
and  kicking  friend  or  foe  indiscriminately.  Then  we  had  a 
short  breathing  spell,  for  the  proctors  jumped  in  to  ascer- 
tain the  casualties.  Big  Koehler,  who  had  been  in  our  front 
rank,  was  lugged  out  and  taken  home  with  a  twisted  knee, 
and  a  couple  of  Sophomores  were  disabled.  Then  the  scrap 
went  merrily  on.  There  was  no  order  or  discipline  after 
this  first  rush.  Everybody  ran  around  the  cannon,  hitting 
everybody  else,  for  about  half  an  hour,  till  we  were  all 
bruised  and  battered  and  choked  witli  dust,  but  'Ninety- 
four  was  left  in  possession  of  the  field. 

On  the  following  day  black  eyes  were  visible  in  abun- 
dance, and  raw^  beef-steak  was  at  a  premium. 

Foot-ball  now  began  to  attract  our  attention.  Our  Class 
did   not   contribute  a  very  large  number  to  the  'Varsity 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  17 

squad,  but  in  this  instance  it  was  a   case  of  quality,  not 
quantity. 

First  and  foremost,  according  to  the  Frincetonian,  was 
Sherrill  McWilhams,  profanely  known  as  "  Skinny."  He 
was  thought  to  be  a  coming  Avonder,  an  infant  prodigy. 
Great  throngs  used  to  journey  down  to  the  field  eyer}'  noon 
to  see  Mac  coached  by  Hector  Cowan  and  Jesse  Riggs. 
But  our  hopes  were  soon  cast  down,  as  our  pet  withdrew 
his  support  from  the  Association,  on  the  grounds  that  foot- 
ball was  a  brutal  game  and  should  not  be  encouraged. 
Dowkontt  was  a  stocky,  muscular  fellow,  but  soon  dropped 
back  on  the  scrub.  He  was  supposed  to  belieye  that  the 
game  should  be  played  with  the  feet,  not  the  head.  Labor- 
ing under  this  delusion,  he  was  not  a  howling  success  at 
first,  though  he  made  rapid  progress  after  he  was  unde- 
ceiyed.  Billy  Meredith  also  took  a  shot  at  'Varsity  honors, 
but  missed  it.  Our  Class  team  organized  with  ''Chip"  Mc- 
Kenzie  as  captain,  and  lined  up  as  follows  : — 

Chamberlaix Left  end. 

H.  RiGGS Left  tackle. 

DowKOXTT Left  guard. 

F.  RiGGS Centre. 

Thompson Right  guard. 

Farxum Right  tackle. 

McKexzie  (captain)  ....  Right  end. 

Duff Quarter-back. 

Meredith Left  half-back. 

DusEXBERRY Right  lialf-back. 

Drake .  Full-back. 


18  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

They  played  Hill  School,  Pennington,  and  the  Freshmen 
teams  of  Lehigh  and  Columbia,  winning  all  by  generous 
margins. 

Our  'Varsity,  playing  with  varying  success  through  the 
season,  finally  wound  up  the  year  by  that  terrible  defeat  at 
Eastern  Park  on  November  27th,  where  Yale  interred  our 
hopes  by  a  score  of  thirty-one  to  notliing. 

The  Fates  were  certainly  unkind  that  day.  Not  content 
with  giving  Yale  the  victory,  they  caused  a  large  open  stand, 
filled  with  loyal  Princetonians,  to  collapse.  Many  of  our 
number  were  caught  in  this  accident,  though  none  were  seri- 
ously injured.  Ludington  sprained  his  ankle  slightly,  and 
sent  in  a  claim  for  doctor  bills  and  twenty-five  dollars  a 
week  damages  for  the  time  he  was  obliged  to  be  absent 
from  recitations.  An  ordinary  individual  would  never  be- 
lieve that  Lud  got  twenty-five  dollars  a  week  out  of  the 
Greek,  Latin,  and  Mathematics  we  had  in  Freshman  year, 
but  the  Eastern  Park  Association,  from  Lud's  letters,  no 
doubt,  judged  he  was  some  professor  high  in  authority  and 
paid  his  claim  without  a  murmur. 

All  this  Fall  our  Class  Glee  and  Banjo  Clubs  had  been 
practicing. 

The  Glee  Club,  under  the  efficient  leadership  of  Bobby 
McDowell,  worked  night  and  day.  To  be  sure,  they  could 
not  sing  very  much,  but  then  they  were  splendidly  trained, 
and  rendered  ''  Cock  Robin,"  "  Forsaken,"  "  Seeing  Nellie 
Home,"  "  Old  Black  Joe,"  and  three  or  four  other  time- 
worn  favorites  in  a  manner  which  was  very  moving.  At 
least  that  was  the  effect  on  the  audiences. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  19 

The  Banjo  Club  worked  equally  hard  under  Willet 
Spooner.  There  were  about  eight  first  banjos,  two  second 
banjos,  and  often  as  many  as  two  guitars.  Poller  Havens 
nearly  gaA^e  Spooner  an  attack  of  brain  fever  by  appear- 
ing with  a  guitar  strung  up  left-handed,  the  note  on  each 
fret  being  pasted  in  with  newspaper.  Spooner  never  could 
quite  comprehend  how  Havens  managed  that  instrument. 
After  the  practice  was  over  our  leader  would  scratch  his 
head  and  with  a  chuckle  ejaculate,  ''  That's  the  gol  darn- 
dest  thing  I  ever  seen."  But  soon  the  Faculty  requested 
Spooner  to  depart,  and  a  new  leader  was  sought.  The 
choice  fell  upon  Alex  Jenney,  who  carried  on  the  work 
from  this  point.  Jen  had  a  great  genius  for  arranging 
pieces.  He  would  take  a  couple  of  old  'Varsity  pieces, 
cut  them  in  two,  splice  them  together  with  a  few  chords, 
and  then  they  would  appear  on  the  programme  as  "  ar- 
ranged by  Jenney."  "  Dyke  "  Kellogg,  who  played  second 
banjo,  was  a  great  cause  of  tunnoil  to  the  club.  "  Dyke  " 
is  very  absent-minded,  and  often  would  go  right  on  play- 
ing the  same  chord  for  half  an  hour,  though  the  banjos 
had  chased  into  five  or  six  keys  in  the  meantime.  When 
asked  why  he  had  not  kept  awake,  Dyke  would  manifest 
great  surprise,  and  exclaim  in  an  injured  tone,  "  How  in 
thunder  do  you  expect  me  to  climb  all  over  my  banjo, 
unless  you  tell  me  when  to  do  it."  Finally  Conkling  was 
deputed  to  sit  next  him  and  punch  him  at  points  where 
the  harmony  became  close. 

The  organizations  under  the  management  of  Jud  Bailey 


20  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

gave  concerts  in  Kingston  and  Lawrenceville  to  large  and 
enthusiastic  audiences,  as  the  Princetonian  said. 

At  Kingston  a  good,  old-fashioned  country  dinner  was 
served,  at  which  Tom  Bailey  and  Q\i\\)  McCampbell  cap- 
tured the  hearts  of  the  rustic  maidens  by  their  splendid  table- 
manners.  '^  Fat  "  ^IcAVilliams  attracted  general  attention 
by  his  enormous  abilities  in  getting  away  with  chicken. 

In  going  down  to  Lawrenceville  Bob  McDowell's  stage 
broke  down,  and  the  Glee  Club  marched  into  the  concert 
hall  an  hour  late.  It  Avas  a  rainy  night,  so  the  boys  had 
rolled  up  their  trousers,  and  '^  Muck "  Holmes,  to  the 
amusement  of  observers,  came  out  on  the  platform  for  the 
first  piece  with  his  pantaloons  hanging  about  six  inches 
above  his  shoe-toj)s. 

By  this  time  we  had  been  put  through  our  divisional 
examinations,  and  were  settled  down  to  hard  work,  digging 
Greek  roots  for  Dr.  Cameron  and  extracting  cube  roots  for 
Professor  Fine. 

The  second  classical  division  comprised  the  smart 
youths  who  wouldn't  work,  but  who  knew  a  good  deal  of 
Latin  and  Greek.  There  was  Yorke  Allen,  Teddy  Hum- 
phrey, McWilliams,  Lou  Keichnor,  ''  Billy  "  Leggitt,  Bob 
Lewis,  and  a  lot  more  of  that  ilk — the  worst  crowd  of 
horse-players  in  the  Class. 

It  was  this  division  which,  in  accordance  with  immemo- 
rial usage,  secured  Dr.  Cameron's  hat. 

The  Winter  months  at  Princeton  are  the  time  when  all 
the  deviltry  in  the  nature  of  the  average  student  crops  out. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  21 

Beginning  after  Thanksgiving,  some  of  the  boys  struck 
a  pretty  rapid  pace,  and  kept  at  it  until  Washington's  Birth- 
day, pausing  only  for  Christmas  holidays  and  the  February 
examinations. 

Harold  McMillan's  room,  up  in  University,  was  con- 
stantly filled  with  a  crowd  ready  for  anything  and  every- 
thing. 

Mrs.  Goldie's  house,  on  University  Place,  was  headquar- 
ters for  another  select  assortment.  In  this  were  Benny 
Benson,  Ed  Hammett,  Tom  Bowes,  Harvey  Young,  Man- 
deville,  and  Jack  Bridges. 

Up  in  Carpenter's  was  the  hanging-out  place  of  another 
set.  These  were  the  quiet  fellows,  who  didn't  care  to  loaf 
around  town  at  nights,  but  stayed  in-doors  and  amused 
themselves  by  playing  games.  The  poor  Carpenters  led  a 
terrible  existence  that  Winter.  Morning  after  morning  they 
would  wake  up  to  find  themselves  barred  in  their  bed- 
rooms, while  the  night  was  made  hideous  by  all  kinds  of 
noises.  Petrie  and  "  Buck  "  Ewing  arranged  very  ingeni- 
ously a  magnificent  horse-fiddle,  fashioning  it  out  of  a  dry- 
goods  box  and  a  bed  slat.  At  all  hours  of  the  night  this 
instrument  would  be  plaj^ed  by  unseen  hands,  emitting  the 
most  horrible  moans  imaginable.  When  ^Ir.  Carpenter 
would  ascend  in  scant  attire  to  the  upper  regions,  the  fiddle 
would  be  secreted  in  a  closet,  and  every  one  apparently 
enjoying  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

But  Mr.  Carpenter  used  to  sa}^  "  I  know  that  long- 
legged  Dickey  done  it !  " 


22  HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

The  Winter  months  brought  many  evils,  but  of  these 
two  stand  pre-eminent.  First  were  our  mid-year  exami- 
nations. The  Faculty  always  makes  use  of  this  occasion 
to  weed  out  the  class,  and  our  numbers  were  carefully 
pruned.  We  lost  about  fifteen  men,  and  many  more  were 
badly  frightened.  Those  were  the  days  in  which  the  "  crib  " 
was  omnipresent  and  omnipotent,  and  four  or  five  'Ninety- 
four  men  were  past-masters  of  the  art. 

The  second  great  evil  which  is  worth}^  of  notice  was  the 
snow.  To  Freshmen  in  Princeton  the  sight  of  the  ground 
covered  with  a  "  beautiful  white  mantle  "  is  a  vision  of 
terror,  for  it  invariably  melts  within  twenty-four  hours,  and 
then ! 

There  were  men  in  the  Class  of  'Ninety-three  who  could 
throw  the  hardest  snow-ball  Avith  the  truest  aim  and  the 
greatest  speed,  and  this  talent  was  not  confined  to  few  men, 
but  their  name  was  legion.  Corners  were  no  bar  to  them, 
doors  did  not  stop  them.  It  was  the  same  old  story,  morn- 
ing, noon,  and  night,  and  generally  in  the  afternoon.  Up 
and  down  Nassau  Street  were  we  chased,  across  the  campus 
and  far  into  the  country.  Wherever  there  was  a  Freshman, 
a  snow-ball  and  a  Sophomore  would  appear  in  close  prox- 
imity, that  is,  unless  the  Freshman  was  a  sprinter.  It  was 
a  splendid  training  for  our  noble  track  athletes,  though  it 
was  rather  hard  upon  the  candidates  for  honors  in  this  line. 
The  most  terrible  ordeal  was  getting  into  Dickinson  Hall. 
We  took  our  lives  in  our  hands  every  time  we  went  to  a 
recitation,  and  yet  received  no  extra  credit  from  the  Fac- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  23 

ulty.  Even  Frank  ^IcCune  and  P.  P.  Bliss  were  known 
to  cut  lectures  about  this  time. 

At  last  flesh  and  blood  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  we 
resolved  to  give  the  Sophomores  some  of  their  own  medicine, 
and  so  Tom  Bailey,  President  of  the  Class  in  place  of  H. 
Riggs  (who  had  been  elected  to  a  temporary  presidency,  and 
held  his  office  four  months),  sent  word  around  that  the  snow- 
ball fight  was  to  occur  on  the  first  favorable  opportunity. 

The  weather  and  the  Faculty  were  against  us,  and  it  was 
nearly  a  week  before  the  snow  was  in  good  "  packing  "  con- 
dition. But  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  our  mid-year 
examination  in  algebra  we  sallied  forth  to  do  or  be  did. 
The  fact  that  we  had  algebra  the  next  day  doubtless  deterred 
many  from  coming  out,  and  so  when  we  were  marshaled 
by  the  Juniors  back  of  Halstead  Observatory  there  were  but 
one  hundred  and  forty  of  us.  The  Sophomores  were  sta- 
tioned upon  the  campus  in  front  of  Witherspoon,  and  as  we 
sallied  out  to  meet  them  each  side  raised  a  slogan  and  fell 
to  with  a  will. 

For  a  long  time  the  victory  hung  in  balance.  Mac 
Thompson  performed  prodigies  of  valor,  leading  the  old 
guard  against  the  strong  lines  of  the  enemy.  Upon  the 
right  wing  "  Bottle  "  White  might  be  seen  rolling  over  and 
over  in  a  rough  and  tumble  fight  with  an  old-time  enemy, 
while  upon  the  left  stood  Ernie  Ramsdell,  placidly  punch- 
ing the  heads  of  any  who  dared  to  approach.  '^Poller" 
Day  was  also  showing  his  scrapping  abilities,  and  "  Muck  " 
Lloyd  was  having  lots  of  fun. 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

The  battle  was  fought  in  a  circle,  and  finally  the  Sopho- 
mores hemmed  us  in,  in  a  compact  mass,  in  front  of  With- 
erspoon,  and,  waiting  until  we  had  scraped  the  ground  bare, 
charged  upon  us  with  the  reserves. 

Paul  Burrill  Jenkins  dashed  to  the  rescue  with  the  rear- 
guard, but  as  he  was  exhorting  his  comrades  to  stand  firm 
and  die  like  men,  a  large  ball  of  soft  snow  was  flung  into 
his  mouth,  completely  choking  his  utterance.  Paul  has 
never  gotten  all  that  snow  out  yet ! 

This  disabling  of  our  rear-guard  was  our  final  catas- 
trophe. We  began  an  orderly  retreat,  carefully  drawing  in 
our  outposts,  but  the  charges  of  the  enemy  became  more 
and  more  pressing.  Our  retreat  was  turned  into  a  rout,  our 
rout  into  a  flight,  our  flight  into  a  sneaking  home  through 
alleys  and  by-ways,  chased  by  the  victorious  enemy. 

The  ground  where  the  battle  was  fought  was  tramped 
bare,  and  here  and  there  might  be  seen  dark  spots  of  blood, 
showing  that  many  poor  fellows  had  been  smitten  upon  the 
nose. 

The  next  day  saw  a  large  and  varied  collection  of  black 
eyes,  swollen  lips,  and  bruised  faces,  and  we  had  the  forlorn 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  wounds  were  not  all  upon 
our  side. 

After  this,  snow-balling  went  on  as  usual,  and  though 
we  occasionally  retaliated,  we  found  it  a  costly  experiment. 

One  afternoon  late  in  March,  Sill,  who  was  rooming  with 
Brodie  up  in  the  Carpenter  mansion,  espied  a  Sophomore 
passing   below   his   window.      Sill   always   was   a   reckless 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  25 

youth,  and  without  giving  the  matter  two  thoughts  dropped 
a  large  square  chunk  of  ice  from  the  window  upon  the 
passer's  head,  and  made  good  his  retreat  into  a  back  room. 
Of  course,  a  howling  mob  surrounded  the  house  within 
thirty  seconds,  and  while  Sill  hid  himself  in  a  closet, 
"  Bottle  "  White  entertained  the  visitors  in  the  front  room. 
A  few  sentiments  in  regard  to  Freshmen  in  general  were 
uttered  by  the  first  comer,  whereupon  "  Bot "  arose  in  his 
might,  grappled  with  the  Sophomore,  and  threw  him  on  the 
bed;  but  as  it  was  his  own  bed,  Bottle  fell  underneath,  as 
the  state  of  that  bed's  health  was  very  delicate,  and  it  might 
break  down  at  any  moment.  While  the  matter  was  discussed 
by  the  rest  of  the  household  they  lay  thus,  locked  in  each 
other's  arms,  until  the  controversy  w^as  amicably  concluded. 

Wash-ington's  Birthday,  the  last  occasion  upon  which 
the  animosity  of  the  two  lower  classes  breaks  forth,  passed 
in  its  usual  fashion.  The  town  and  campus  were  patrolled 
by  the  Sophomores,  and  the  Freshmen  kept  carefully  within 
doors.  A  few  banners  were  hoisted,  but  they  came  down 
by  noon,  before  a  large  audience. 

A  'Ninet^^-four  flag  was  hoisted  from  Carpenter's  by 
Brick  Turner,  and  Sill,  which  led  to  the  house  being  bom- 
barded with  stone.  Mr.  Carpenter  threatened  to  shoot  some- 
body, but  the  Sophomores  were  obdurate,  and  would  not 
leave  until  the  objectionable  flag  was  removed. 

Meanwhile  the  Junior  Prom,  brought  a  host  of  fair 
maidens  down  upon  us,  and  gave  our  "  society  dukes  "  a 
chance  to  show  their  metal. 


26  HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Bob  Lewis,  Conkling,  Yorke  Allen,  Jenney,  and  Harold 
McMillan  were  about  the  only  recruits  from  our  Class. 

John  Dickinson  and  "  Conk  "  are  the  true  social  leaders 
of  our  Class,  but  for  some  unexplained  reason  John  could 
not  go  to  this  dance,  though  of  course  he  has  never  missed 
one  since. 

The  month  of  March  passed  rapidly,  the  sporting  ele- 
ment having  one  or  two  big  blow-outs,  though  they  did  it 
pretty  quietly. 

The  last  of  the  month  brought  with  it  the  Easter  re- 
cess, and  gave  the  ball  team  a  chance  to  get  out  doors. 
They  had  been  practicing  ever  since  the  term  began,  and 
show"  their  hard  work  by  their  games  in  April.  Of  course 
a  number  of  the  Class  tried  for  the  team.  There  was  one 
vacant  place,  which  Ed  Wright  quietly  nabbed,  leaving  the 
rest  out  in  the  cold.  Gaddy  Drake  was  taken  on  as  substi- 
tute pitcher,  and  Ernie  Ramsdell  made  the  team  later  in  the 
season.  Teddy  Humphrey  went  down  to  the  cage  regularly 
every  day  for  two  months,  and  gave  the  'Varsity  men  splen- 
did practice.  Hump  used  to  play  first  base,  and  the  way  in 
wdiich  he  was  maltreated  was  heart-breaking.  They  tried 
to  throw  balls  that  he  could  not  possibly  catch.  But 
Hump's  great  forte  was  in  sliding  bases.  The  way  in  which 
he  w^ould  flop  down  upon  his  knees  and  then  crawl  carefully 
up  to  the  base  has  been  seldom  equaled. 

While  the  'Varsity  was  getting  into  fine  form  our  Class 
team  was  also  developing  good  material.  "  Widow  "  Smith 
had  been  elected  manager,  and  assessed  the  Class  to  such  an 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  27 

extent  that  our  team  rolled  in  wealth.  They  practiced  in 
the  morning  in  the  cage  under  the  tuition  of  '^  'Varsity 
Peter." 

The  team,  which  played  most  of  the  season,  was  made 
up  as  follows  : — 

Forsyth Pitcher. 

Humphrey  or  Oliver  .    .    .    ,    .  Catcher. 

YouxG First  base. 

Andrews Second  base. 

Duff Short  stop. 

Xeely Third  base. 

GuFFEY  (captain)  .    .  ■ Left  field. 

McKexzie Centre  field. 

SiCARD Right  field. 

McCullogh  was  the  substitute  in-fielder,  and  Ernie 
Ramsdeli  played  third  base  until  he  was  promoted  to  the 
'Varsity. 

Ed  Oliver,  on  account  of  lameness,  was  a])le  to  play  but 
little  ball  that  season. 

The  team  was  very  successful  throughout  the  whole 
season,  losing  but  two  games,  one  to  the  Yale  Freshmen 
and  one  to  Lawrenceville,  both  by  the  score  of  six  to  four. 
They  won  from  Hill  School,  Brooklyn  Polytechnic,  AVest- 
minster  School,  St.  Luke's,  and  Lehigh  Freshmen. 

As  had  been  said,  "  Widow  "  Smith  was  a  splendid  col- 
lector, and  the  team  cleared  $100  during  the  season.  AVhat 
became  of  this  money  is  a  problem  which  has  never  been 
definitely  solved.  "Widow"  swears  that  he  bought  every 
man  on  the  team  a  new  Spring  suit,  while  others,  who  ought 


28  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

to  know,  say  it  was  used  to  take  the  manager  down  to  At- 
lantic City  the  next  Summer. 

Meanwhile  the  track  men  were  brought  out  and  put 
through  their  paces,  and  our  Class  showed  up  in  very  fair 
shape.  Dark  hints  were  made  as  to  how  Ramsdell  had 
jumped  twenty-four  feet  and  was  improving  every  day. 
There  were  seven  ''  Indians"  from  'Ninety-four  at  the  train- 
ing-table that  year,  Sill,  Ramsdell,  Swain,  Clark,  "  Whisk- 
ers" Smith,  ''  Ap  "  Black,  and  Pat  Farnum. 

Of  this  outfit,  George,  now  ''  Captain "  Swain,  is  the 
only  one  who  ever  w^on  a  place  for  Princeton.  '^Reddy'^ 
Schmitt  was  also  a  fair  quarter-miler  if  you  can  take  in  all 
he  says  about  his  own  powers. 

May  brought  with  it  a  number  of  victories  to  the  'Var- 
sity.    We  lost  to  Yale  and  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  a  lovely  Spring  we  had  that  year,  and  we  poor  Fresh- 
men made  the  best  of  it.  It  was  so  pleasant  to  sit  around 
on  the  campus  in  the  long  Summer  evenings,  and,  listening 
to  the  Seniors  sing,  think  of  that  far  distant  day  when  we 
would  sit  in  their  places.     It  seemed  a  long  way  off,  then. 

But  the  unpleasant  reality  of  the  June  examinations 
called  us  from  our  loafing  to  sit  down  and  pole  that  awful 
grind  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  mathematics.  Our  labors  had 
been  lightened  somewhat,  as  we  had  pursued  a  most  inter- 
esting course  in  chemistry  under  Dr.  Schauck. 

Examinations  over  we  jerked  our  Class  caps  upon  our 
heads  and  stalked  around  the  campus,  feeling  every  inch 
Sophomores. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  29 

Bob  Lewis  was  the  chairman  of  the  committee  who 
selected  those  caps,  and  at  first  Robert  thought  they  were 
sweet.  He  doesn't  Hke  to  have  you  ask  him  questions  about 
them  now,  as  his  tastes  have  changed  somewhat. 

That  Saturday  night  after  we  defeated  Yale  by  the 
memorable  score  of  five  to  three  was  a  most  joyous,  most 
auspicious  occasion,  as  Patterson  would  say. 

It  would  seem  as  if  many  of  our  dear  class-mates  did 
upon  that  one  evening  look  upon  the  wine  when  it  was  red. 
It  was  a  grand  celebration,  and  we  carried  wood  in  a  manner 
w^hich  won  for  us  the  respect  of  the  Alumni. 

The  fire  was  kept  going  till  late  at  night,  and  at  two 
o'clock  the  fun  was  at  its  height. 

The  next  morning  the  hacks  were  loaded  with  crowds 
going  Junction-wards,  and  the  Freshman  year  of  the  Class 
of  'Ninety-four  was  all  over,  except  the  pleasant  news  that 
we  beat  Yale  in  the  third  game  at  New  York  by  a  score  of 
five  to  two. 


CHAPTER    II 


SOPHOMORE    YEAR 


SOPHOMORE    YEAR. 

On  the  twenty-third  day  of  September  College  opened 
with  a  flourish. 

Now  that  we  were  Sophomores,  it  was  not  such  a  neces- 
sity that  we  be  back  on  time,  and  so  it  was  some  two  weeks 
before  the  Class  had  all  returned.  We  all  had  enjoyed  the 
Summer,  and  came  back  prepared  for  a  hard  year's  work. 
Some  did  not  quite  know  w^hether  the  work  was  to  be  in 
the  line  of  college  duties,  strictly  speaking,  or  whether  they 
were  to  devote  their  attention  to  taking  care  of  the  Fresh- 
men, but  all  w^ere  going  to  labor  for  the  glory  of  'Ninety- 
four  and  Princeton. 

Our  experiences  during  the  Summer  had  been  many  and 
varied.  The  society  men  reported  numerous  hearts  smashed, 
and  talked  about  Newport  and  Bar  Harbor.  Then  there 
were  the  Nimrods,  with  tales  of  deer  and  wolves  and  bear 
that  were  actually  hair-raising.  Jim  Blake's  veracity  had 
never  been  questioned  before,  but  when  he  spoke  of  des- 
perate encounters  and  thrilling  escapes,  and  laid  the  scene 
of  his  adventures  in  the  Adirondacks,  even  Larimore  C. 
Denise,  Jim's  ardent  admirer,  looked  askance  and  guessed 
that  Jimmy  was  playin'  him  for  a  sucker. 

Petrie,  Muck  Holmes,  Patterson,  Buck  Ewing,  Robbins, 
Cartwright,  and  Nixon,  after  taking  in  the  Spring  a  course  in 

(33) 


34  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

the  etiquette  of  bookselling,  had  started  out  to  make  a  tour 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  intending  to 
dispose  of  a  publication  called  ''  Manners,  Culture,  and 
Dress"  by  the  wayside.  They  thought  they  had  been 
guaranteed  expenses  and  ten  dollars  a  week  salary,  no 
matter  how  few  books  they  sold  ;  but  their  innocent  be- 
lief in  human  goodness  was  soon  dispelled  wdien  they 
found  they  were  working  on  commission.  Pete  worked 
two  w^eeks  in  this  agreeable  employment  around  Doyles- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  and  by  hard  hustling  sold  four  books. 
He  finally  skipped  the  town  when  he  was  caught  kissing 
his  landlady's  daughter. 

Buck  Ewing  got  stuck  in  Southern  Pennsylvania,  and 
had  to  walk  home  from  Chambersburg  to  Harrisburg. 
Patterson  worked  six  weeks  and  succeeded  in  making  ex- 
penses. Old  Nixon,  with  his  gentle  penetrating  voice  and 
insinuating  manner,  cleared  a  small  fortune,  while  Robbins 
and  ^'Cart"  did  fairly  well.  It  was  splendid  experience 
for  all  the  boys,  and  has  taught  them  not  to  trust  the  fickle- 
ness of  book  concerns. 

It  took  us  some  time  to  get  acquainted  with  all  the  new 
members  of  our  Class.  There  was  Jack  Wilkins,  the  man 
who  is  such  a  universal  favorite  with  the  ladies  ;  Kip  and 
Dice  from  Ohio  ;  Harlow,  Evans,  and  numerous  others. 

We  had  lost  several  men  whom  the  Class  could  ill  spare. 
Pete  Hitch  man,  Joe  Guify,  McLeod,  Mandeville,  the  famous 
painter  of  the  '^  Water-tower,"  Jack  Bridges,  and  several 
more  were  with  us  no  longer  in  an  academic  capacity. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  35 

But  we  made  two  acquisitions  which  more  than  over- 
balanced our  losses,  in  the  shape,  or  rather  shapes,  of  Bills, 
Tower,  and  Sykes.  ''  Eiffel  "  Tower  was  bequeathed  us  by 
'Ninety-three,  with  which  Class  he  had  taken  ]iis  Freshman 
year.  He  was  obliged  to  stay  out  a  year  until  his  mental  de- 
velopment caught  up  with  his  physical.  Benjamin  William 
McCready  Sykes  had  already  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
New  York,  but  coming  down  here  the  Spring  before,  he  had 
been  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  place,  and  finding 
that  Dr.  Patton  agreed  with  him  upon  the  broad  lines  of 
metaphysical  dicta,  decided  to  join  our  Class  and  make  his 
fortune  b}''  swiping  all  the  prizes  within  sight. 

After  Bill  had  been  in  Princeton  four  days  he  appeared 
in  a  pair  of  orange  and  black  trousers  which  were  the  ad- 
miration of  all  beholders.  Perhaps  Bill's  actions  were  a 
little  arrogant  for  a  ''  Fresh  "  Sophomore,  or  else  it  was  his 
intense  interest  in  everything  that  went  on,  which  led  him 
into  trouble.  At  any  rate  the  Juniors  and  Seniors  decided 
that  he  knew  a  little  bit  too  much  about  everything  (for 
this  man  never  specializes,  he  is  a  universal  genius),  and  so 
the  good  William  was  put  through  a  course  of  sprouts, 
which  humbled  his  haughty  spirit.  He  was  made  to  plead 
imaginary  cases  before  invisible  juries,  to  sing,  tell  stories, 
set  up  the  beers,  and  make  himself  generally  useful  and 
entertaining. 

We  have  said  nothing  so  far  of  the  Freshmen,  but  they 
deserve  considerable  notice,  as  they  were  a  sturdy  lot,  and 
gave  us  not  a  little  anxiety  before  we  subdued  them  to  their 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

proper  status.  They  held  their  Class  meeting  the  Wednes- 
day, and  elected  a  temporary  set  of  officers. 

That  night  the  annual  rush  occurred.  It  was  the  same 
old  story,  and  once  again  did  'Ninety-four  show  her  prowess 
and  hold  the  cannon.  Perhaps  the  fight  was  more  severe 
than  the  one  in  which  we  had  been  engaged  the  year  before. 
It  was  certainly  a  bitter  struggle.  Of  course  we  had  been 
warned  collectively  and  as  individuals  against  taking  part 
in  this  barbarous  custom,  but  we  were  on  hand  when  the 
time  came,  and  upheld  the  honor  of  our  Class. 

There  were  no  fatal  wounds  received  on  either  side, 
though  Shorty  Kennedy,  who  was  lined  up  in  our  front  rank, 
did  break  his  knuckle  in  smiting  some  youth.  ''  Short  '^ 
has  never  been  able  to  discover  who  the  gentleman  was  who 
came  in  contact  with  his  fist,  but  he  is  willing  to  bet  his 
diploma  against  a  ticket  to  the  Lynde  debate  that  the  fellow 
wished  he  had  stayed  at  home  that  evening.  Brick  Turner 
got  into  an  argument  with  several  Juniors  who  had  mingled 
in  the  strife,  and  was  upon  the  point  of  starting  in  to  lick 
all  'Ninety-three,  when  his  friends  interfered  and  dragged 
him  away. 

The  inter-class  base-ball  series  began  the  Monday  after 
College  opened,  and  continued  through  the  week.  Our  team 
lost  the  game  with  the  Seniors,  score,  five  to  nothing,  while 
the  game  with  the  Juniors  was  not  played. 

Of  course  the  whole  interest  of  the  series  was  concen- 
trated in  our  game  with  the  Freshmen,  which  occurred  on 
Saturday.     This  time  we  were  the  horse-players,  and  an  ele- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  37 

gant  appearance  did  we  present.  "  Fat  "  McWilliams  led 
the  band,  dressed  in  a  tight-fitting  costume,  which  showed 
his  mammoth  proportions  to  great  advantage.  Irish  Mc- 
Clenahan  was  a  close  second  in  size  and  beauty  of  contour. 
Sykes  appeared  in  the  aforementioned  orange  and  black 
trousers.  It  was  a  very  enjoyable  afternoon  in  all  respects, 
being  rendered  more  so  by  the  fact  that  the  game  was  ours, 
after  an  exciting  contest ;  score,  six  to  four. 

Of  course  we  had  been  warned  long  before  this  of  the 
penalties  which  would  be  inflicted  upon  any  one  detected  in 
hazing.  Yet  some  of  our  fellows  were  rash  enough  to  do  a 
little  of  it  on  the  sly.  Our  crowd  was  a  terror  to  all  Fresh- 
men. There  were  Harvey  Young,  Tom  Bowes,  Ed  Ham- 
mett,  Ernie  Ramsdell,  Ed  AVright,  and  a  few  more  of 
that  noble  band  who  generally  traveled  together.  Lou 
Reichnor  was  always  taken  along  to  play  horse  with  the 
victim,  and  would  worry  him  into  a  white  heat  of  rage. 
If  he  was  a  big  man,  Lou  would  then  slip  quietly  into 
the  rear,  and  Tom  Bowes  and  Harvey  Young,  those  grim 
executors  of  the  Sophomores'  will,  would  lead  him  to  the 
slaughter. 

The  Riggses,  with  Rankin,  George  Williams,  the  two 
Kennedys,  "  Ap  "  Black,  and  Billy  Meredith  formed  another 
small  circle  for  the  suppression  of  freshness,  while  Harold 
McMillan,  Jenney,  Bushnell,  and  the  rest  of  the  University 
Hall  set  were  not  too  high  and  mighty  to  engage  in  the 
gentle  pastime.  Besides  this,  little  independent  crowds 
assisted  in  the  business,  so  altogether  we  managed  to  keep 


38  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS  OF    '94. 

the  ball  rolling  in  a  lively  manner,  and  showed  the  Fresh- 
men that  we  were  able  to  take  care  of  them. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Class  early  in  the  term  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected  for  the  year  : — 

President Ralph  Ramsdell, 

Vice-President A.  D.  Jenney, 

Secretary  and  Treasurer   .  W.  G.  Wilson, 
Historian D.  P.  B.  Conkling. 

''  Bill  Nye  "  Ramsdell  at  once  stepped  into  office  with  a 
blowing  of  trumpets  and  a  beating  of  cymbals.  He  divided 
the  Class  into  sections  and  committees  for  the  purpose  of 
watching  for  Freshmen  proclamations.  For  about  ten  days 
Bill  had  the  whole  Class  sleeping  out  on  the  cold,  cold 
ground,  protected  only  by  a  pair  of  sweaters  and  a  bottle  of 
whisky. 

Every  road  leading  anywhere  was  patrolled  by  a  band 
of  stout  youths,  armed  with  immense  clubs.  The  poor 
country  people  were  terrified  by  our  martial  appearance, 
and  locked  their  houses  and  barns  against  all  intruders. 
General  Ramsdell  would  visit  the  campus  every  night  or  so, 
and  give  us  an  encouraging  word.  Captain  William  Mere- 
dith and  Lieutenant  Chamberlain  had,  as  usual  picked  out 
the  best  berth,  and  occupied  a  vacant  passenger  car  at  the 
Junction.  One  night  when  the  captain  with  a  corporal's 
guard  was  making  his  rounds  he  heard  a  wagon  approach- 
ing. Billy  jumped  into  the  middle  of  the  road  shouting 
"  Halt !    and   give    the  countersign."      The  farmer  nearly 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    "94.  39 

hauled  his  horse  into  the  wagOD  and  implored  our  amateur 
militia  not  to  shoot.  After  giving  the  aged  rustic  a  long 
lecture  upon  the  dangers  of  being  out  so  late  at  night  our 
brave  AVillie  let  him  go. 

Somehow  or  other  the  Freshmen  forgot  to  come  out 
those  chilly  evenings  in  which  the  Class  of  'Xinety-four 
was  bivouacked  in  corn-fields  and  under  bridges,  and  we 
accomplished  nothing  beyond  chasing  a  few  Juniors  who 
came  out  for  the  express  purpose  of  getting  into  trouble. 

One  night,  just  as  we  were  giving  up  all  hopes  of  ever 
discovering  any  ''  procs,"  a  wagon  was  overhauled  down 
by  Evelyn,  in  which  a  couple  of  Juniors  were  found  seated. 
They  were  very  wroth  at  being  held  up  by  "  last  year's 
Freshmen,"  as  they  styled  us.  AVhile  they  were  expressing 
their  views  in  carefully  selected  language,  '^  Ap "  Black, 
peering  into  the  back  of  their  wagon,  discovered  a  bundle, 
which  he  at  once  assumed  was  the  long-sought-for  procla- 
mations. Appius  at  once  faked  the  package  and  started 
towards  Princeton  at  a  killing  pace.  The  Juniors  soon  dis- 
covered their  loss  and  gave  chase,  but  Black,  hardened  by 
long  training  with  the  track  team  and  the  "  University 
Harriers,"  struck  his  gait,  and  did  the  half-mile  in  to  the 
campus  in  time  he  never  afterwards  equaled.  Rushing  up 
to  his  room,  he  locked  the  door,  and  opening  the  bundle 
found  it  to  be  a  number  of  old  Xew  York  papers  I 

To  "Poller"  Nixon  and  "AVindy  "  Allen  belong  the 
honor  of  capturing  the  first  procs.  These  two  bosom  com- 
panions were  scouting  down  by  the  'Varsity  ground  one 


40  HISTORY    OP    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

morning  about  five  o'clock  when  they  discovered  two  sus- 
picious forms  sneaking  round  a  corner.  They  at  once  gave 
chase,  and,  overtaking  them,  recognized  two  bulky  Fresh- 
men, both  members  of  the  'Varsity  foot-ball  squad.  Nixon 
took  away  a  bundle  of  proclamations  from  them  and  per- 
suaded them  both  to  go  back  to  bed. 

Meanwhile  Bunyan  Kirk  Rankin  and  L.  Irving  Reich- 
nor  had  been  building  our  proclamation.  It  was  artisti- 
cally conceived  and  highly  colored  in  tone  and  language, 
but  hardly  met  with  general  approval.  "We  pasted  this  all 
over  the  county  one  night  with  the  same  stealth  and  dis- 
cretion that  the  Freshman  had  used.  It  stayed  just  one  day. 
Brinkerhoff,  thinking  of  the  good  old  days  when  he  used  to 
room  over  Priest's  drug-store,  ornamented  the  side  of  that 
building  with  a  proc,  fastened  on  with  glue  and  carefully 
shellacked.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Priest  might  be  seen  out 
there  in  the  cold  trying  to  pick  it  off  with  a  penknife. 

Of  course  foot-ball  occupied  ajarge  share  of  our  attention 
that  Fall.  We  could  see  that  the  team  was  stronger  than  it 
had  been  the  year  before.  Our  Class  furnished  a  number  of 
candidates  for  both  'Varsity  and  Scrub,  and  though  they 
were  not  stars  they  were  hard-working,  careful  players. 

''  Vic  "  Vincent  had  said  one  day  along  in  the  Spring  that 
he  intended  to  get  on  the  'Varsity  next  year.  Of  course  we 
all  thought  Vincent  was  in  fun,  but  as  soon  as  the  season 
opened  he  came  out,  and  within  five  weeks  was  looked  upon 
as  the  only  possible  man  for  right  end.  He  did  splendid 
work  in  all  the  big  games,  and  at  the  close  of  the  season 


HISTORY  OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  41 

was  considered  one  of  the  most  promising  end  rushers  in 
the  country. 

Jerry  MacCauley  came  out  for  practice  late  in  the  Fall, 
and  by  Thanksgiving  was  a  very  acceptable  first  substitute 
end  rusher. 

As  to  the  Scrub,  it  was  composed  almost  entirely  of 
'Ninety-four  men.  Frank  Riggs,  MacCauley,  Chamberlain, 
MacThompson,  and  Reddy  Turner  were  all  good  ''  scrub  " 
players. 

Our  hopes  were  exalted  as  the  season  advanced,  and 
finally  our  victory  over  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
by  the  splendid  score  of  twenty-four  to  nothing,  led  us 
to  believe  that  our  chances  against  Yale  were  certainly 
bright. 

When  Thanksgiving  at  last  arrived  we  journeyed  \i])  to 
New  York  to  see  our  representatives  fall  before  Yale's  vet- 
erans. The  game  was  much  more  exciting  than  the  one  we 
had  seen  the  year  before,  and  when  the  score  stood  nothing 
to  nothing  at  the  end  of  the  first  half  our  cbeers  rent  the 
skies.  But  the  second  half  brought  a  disastrous  change 
and  we  succumbed. 

Along  in  the  middle  of  November  the  ''  cane-spree," 
which  had  gone  out  of  favor  with  the  Faculty,  was  reju- 
venated. 

We  all  knew  that  our  chosen  representatives  were  in 
training  for  the  struggle,  and  so  one  night  we  were  not  sur- 
prised to  receive  the  intelligence  that  the  spree  was  to  take 
place  at  ten  o'clock  in  front  of  Witherspoon.     At  the  stated 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

hour  the  whole  College  gathered  upon  the  chosen  ground, 
and  a  ring  was  formed  in  which  the  conflict  was  to  occur. 

We  waited  and  waited,  and  then  waited  some  more,  until 
finally  several  muffled  figures  were  brought  out  and  the 
sport  began.  Most  of  us  did  not  quite  understand  about 
the  results,  as  the  three  sprees  were  declared  a  tie,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  next  morning  that  we  learned  that  the  whole 
business  was  arranged  by  some  fertile-minded  Seniors. 

The  bona  fide  cane-spree  occurred  a  few  days  later  upon 
tlie  same  spot.     Our  men  were : — 

Brick  Turner Light-weight. 

Chip  McKenzie Middle-weight. 

Dick  Streit Heavy-weight. 

The  men  were  carefully  trained,  as  were  their  opponents, 
and  a  long  and  spirited  spree  was  hoped  for.  At  the  last 
moment  it  was  learned  that  "  Chip  "  McKenzie  had  sprained 
his  ankle,  and  so  our  chances  were  greatly  lessened.  Pat 
Farnum  was  called  upon  to  take  his  place,  and  though  he 
was  nearly  a  green  hand,  he  made  a  plucky  fight,  only  giv- 
ing in  when  he  had  been  dragged  some  distance  across  the 
rough  ground. 

Turner  quickly  wrested  his  cane  from  his  antagonist, 
partly  by  his  dexterity,  yet  more  by  his  reputation.  He 
had  a  name  of  being  a  bad  man  to  fool  wdth,  and  when 
he  came  into  position  that  night,  with  his  massive  jaw  pro- 
jecting and  liis  carroty  hair  flying  in  all  directions,  he  looked 
like  a  born  prize-fighter. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  43 

Big  Dick  Streit  and  his  opponent  whiled  away  a  tedious 
half  hour  by  lying  on  the  ground,  and  finally  Dick's  wind 
gave  out,  or,  rather,  he  skinned  his  wrist,  and  had  to  yield. 

Thus  we  lost  two  out  of  the  three  canes,  the  victory  going 
to  'Ninety-five. 

From  Thanksgiving  to  Christmas  is  only  a  few  weeks, 
and  these  passed  rapidly  by,  leaving  a  few  lone  mortals  to 
spend  the  holidays  in  Princeton,  while  the  rest  of  us  cleared 
out  in  all  directions. 

By  this  time  hazing  had  nearly  ceased,  though  every  now 
and  then  we  awakened  to  the  fact  that  we  were  Sophomores. 

Lou  Reichnor  persisted  in  making  calls  upon  his  Fresh- 
men friends  w^henever  he  could  get  two  big  men  to  accom- 
pany him,  and,  with  '^  Skinny  "  Rankin  and  the  Riggs  boys, 
he  generally  made  his  calls  very  notable.  These  four 
"  R's  " — Rankin,  Reichnor,  and  the  Riggs — knew  every  man 
in  'Ninety-five  long  before  Thanksgiving. 

After  the  holidays  we  came  back  to  snow-balling  and 
examinations.  Many  of  the  boys  came  on  early,  just  to 
get  their  arms  in  shape  before  we  began  our  bombard- 
ments. The  Freshmen,  as  usual,  had  a  hard  time  of  it 
for  awhile,  as  our  fellows  Avould  miss  a  meal  before  they 
would  forego  the  privilege  of  soaking  a  Freshman  in  the 
ear. 

We  had  some  excellent  marksmen  in  our  Class,  as 
'Ninety-five  will  testify  to  their  sorrow.  Harvey  Young 
would  stand  out  in  front  of  Dickinson,  and,  with  that  sin- 
ister smile  of  his,  draw  back  his  arm  and  let  fly  a  snow-ball, 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

warranted  to  kill  up  to  fifty  yards.  We  certainly  should 
have  been  accurate  that  Winter,  as  we  had  abundant  oppor- 
tunities to  practice. 

As  usual  tlie  snow-ball  fight  was  a  bloody  fray.  It  re- 
sembled an  Irish  })olitical  meeting  more  than  anything 
else.  Of  course  the  little  men  bore  the  brunt  of  the  bat- 
tle, and  the  despised  Poller  stepped  forth  in  all  his  might 
and  put  to  shame  the  pampered  aristocrats.  The  usual 
programme  was  to  stoop  down,  mould  a  snow-ball,  tlirow  it 
with  all  one's  might  and  with  accurate  aim  at  the  eye  of  the 
nearest  man  who  was  not  looking,  and  then,  waiting  till 
some  one  else  stooped  down  to  scra})e  up  snow,  rush  out, 
kick  him  in  the  broadest  part  of  his  anatomy,  and  rush 
back  again.  It  was  a  glorious  idea  of  Bob  Lewis',  this 
using  one's  feet  as  well  as  one's  fist  and  arms.  Bob  has 
large,  expansive  pedal  extremities  and  did  terrible  execu- 
tion. 

Jim  Blake's  eyes  were  closed  early  in  the  game,  and  so 
he  engaged  a  non-combatant  to  point  out  to  him  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  enemy  lay ;  then  he  would  form  a  snow- 
ball and  sling  it  somewhere  or  other.  He  hit  Matt  Goldie 
once,  full  in  the  mouth,  and  drove  a  crowd  of  Seniors  off 
the  steps  of  "  Old  North  "  by  his  persistent  volle^^s. 

Tom  Bowes,  spying  a  Junior  bringing  up  reinforcements 
to  the  Freshmen,  carefully  took  a  bad  egg,  which  he  had 
been  saving  for  some  emergency,  out  of  his  pocket,  and 
with  great  precision  landed  it  in  the  middle  of  the  upper 
classman's  shirt-bosom. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  45 

Much  to  our  regret,  the  Proctors  stopped  the  battle  when 
we  began  using  gravel  for  ammunition,  and  both  sides  with- 
drew their  shattered  forces  for  repairs.  "  Bill  Nye  "  Rams- 
dell,  our  commanding  officer,  has  always  been  positive  that 
we  would  have  driven  the  enemy  from  the  campus  in  five 
minutes  more;  the  conservatives  say  that  it  would  have 
taken  as  much  as  half  an  hour. 

The  examinations,  with  their  steady  grind,  finally  were 
over,  and  the  next  occasion  of  importance  was  Washing- 
ton's Birthday.  We  made  extensive  preparations  for  any 
Freshmen  who  might  be  abroad,  and,  as  in  the  early  part 
of  the  year,  the  whole  Class  was  out.  A  few  judicious 
hazing  parties  were  sent  around  to  take  care  of  necessary 
cases,  but  promiscuous  hazing  was  strictly  forbidden. 

Our  operations  were  hampered  to  some  extent  by  a 
crowd  of  Alumni,  who  in  a  maudlin  condition  paraded 
the  campus.  We  had  to  dodge  them  as  well  as  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  for  'Ninety-five  men.  About  three  o'clock 
Jenney,  Bushnell,  Conkling,  and  Harold  McMillan  were 
crossing  the  campus  when  Jen  saw  the  light  of  a  lantern  in 
the  tower  of  the  School  of  Science  Building.  He  at  once 
set  up  a  yell  of  "  'Ninety-four  this  way,"  which  immediately 
brought  a  number  of  his  class-mates  to  his  side,  but  at  the 
same  time  warned  the  Freshmen  and  alarmed  the  Proctors. 
Jen  was  eager  to  shin  up  a  lightning-rod  into  the  tower,  but 
was  prevented  by  his  friends,  and  an  opening  was  forced  by 
means  of  a  back  window.  Just  as  we  were  getting  up  into 
the  tower,  Bill  Leggitt  and   Sam   Calhoun  arrived  on  the 


46  HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

scene  of  action,  and  the  bold  youth,  with  the  banner  which 
he  had  intended  to  attach  to  the  highest  point  of  tlie  build- 
ing, was  wrested  from  our  grasp. 

At  this  time  the  foundations  of  Alexander  Hall  were 
being  laid,  and  two  enormous  derricks  were  used  by  the 
masons.  Karl  George  climbed  one  of  tliese  to  see  if  they 
had  been  tampered  with  by  Ninety- five,  and  was  treed  by 
the  crowd  of  Alumni.  They  told  him  to  come  down,  and 
when  he  didn't  obey  their  injunction  proceeded  to  stone  him. 
He  came  down  speedily  upon  this  new  move,  and  was  greatly 
reminded  of  his  trials  in  his  first  year  before  he  escaped 
them.  The  rest  of  the  night  passed  off  uneventfully,  and 
a  weary  crowTl  of  Sophomores  retired  to  their  rooms  to 
get  a  little  sleep  before  the  exercises  in  the  gymnasium. 

These  morning  exercises  were  given  over  chiefly  to 
horse-play,  and  amid  a  prodigious  racket  the  orators  at- 
tempted to  harangue  the  multitude.  Teddy  Laughlin  w^as 
the  Sophomore  orator,  and  acquitted  himself  very  credit- 
ably. His  powerful  brazen  lungs  prevailed  even  over  the 
cheers  and  jeers  of  the  underclassmen. 

Shortly  after  this  Lou  Reichnor  was  requested  by  the 
Faculty  to  spend  the  remainder  of  the  year  at  Cranbury  on 
account  of  the  hazing  which  occurred  on  the  eve  of  Wash- 
ington's Birthda}^  Lou  was  loath  to  go,  but  decided  that 
those  in  authority  knew  what  was  best  for  him,  and  departed 
with  his  text-books  for  a  vacation.  He  says  that  Cranbury 
is  not  a  very  lively  town,  but  that  lie  managed  to  have  a  nice, 
quiet  time. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  47 

The  long  Winter  months  were  about  over  now,  and  we 
began  to  have  indications  the  Spring  was  but  waiting  for  an 
opportunity  to  slip  in  upon  us.  It  was  the  season  for  social 
events,  and  our  ''  sassiety  "  men  got  their  dress-suits  out  and 
hunted  for  shirt  buttons. 

The  performance  of  '^  Katherine  "  by  the  Dramatic  Asso- 
ciation, late  in  March,  was  an  event  of  great  importance  in 
our  eyes,  as  we  had  a  chance  to  view  McWilliams  in  pink 
tights  and  see  Sykes  do  the  man-milliner  act.  Either  of 
these  exhibitions  would  have  drawn  a  crowd,  but  the  com- 
bination was  irresistible,  and  so  the  gym.  was  thronged.  It 
w^as  most  amusing  to  watch  ''Fatty  "  try  to  get  the  wrinkles 
out  of  those  fleshings.  He  would  pull  them  up,  then  smooth 
them  down,  performing  all  sorts  of  gymnastics,  but  still 
those  wrinkles  stayed  with  him.  Sykes  sold  his  bonnets  and 
laces  with  the  same  off-hand  air  in  which  he  writes  a  poem 
or  takes  a  Baird  prize.  William  Rogers  was  in  the  chorus, 
and  they  tell  the  story  that  when  Butler,  'Ninety-two,  who 
took  one  of  the  leading  female  roles,  descended  to  the  dress- 
ing-room and  began  to  remove  his  stockings,  Willie  shrank 
behind  the  stove  and  covered  his  face  with  his  handkerchief. 
And  those  who  know  Will  put  confidence  in  the  story,  as  he 
is  one  of  the  most  modest  youths  who  ever  lived. 

The  base-ball  candidates  were  working  away  down  in 
the  cage  with  every  prospect  of  turning  out  a  good  team. 
Ed  Wright,  Gaddy  Drake,  and  Ernie  Ramsdell  still  stayed 
with  the  team,  and  were  doing  good  service  in  their  respect- 
ive positions.     There  is  one   ''  phenom."   whom   we  must 


48  HISTORY    OP    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

mention  in  this  connection.  He  had  been  a  substitute 
pitcher  upon  the  University  of  Michigan  team  and  came  on 
here  prepared  to  make  our  old  men  work  hard  to  retain 
their  positions.  This  was  Mr.  Van  Nortwick,  of  Batavia, 
Illinois.  Van  had  beautiful  curves  and  knew  how  to  pitch, 
at  least  he  thought  he  did,  but  somehow  he  totally  over- 
looked the  fact  that  it  was  necessary  to  put  the  ball  over 
the  base.  This  is  the  reason  why  opposing  teams  make 
so  few  hits  when  "  Cyclone "  is  in  the  box.  He  never 
'puts  the  ball  near  enough  for  them  to  reach  it.  Van  also 
played  the  mandolin,  but  even  as  in  his  pitching,  he  says 
he  learned  to  play  by  a  different  method  than  the  one 
used  in  the  East,  and  so  his  excellence  is  not  properly  ac- 
knowledged. 

A  national  election  was  beginning  to  occupy  the  atten- 
tion of  the  outside  world  in  the  Spring  of  '92,  and  it 
behooved  the  College  to  fall  into  line,  so  Republican  and 
Democratic  campaign  clubs  were  organized,  and  our  Class 
was  not  backward  in  helping  the  good  work  along,  though 
probably  hardly  one  in  five  was  able  to  vote.  The  College 
Eepublican  Club  held  a  mock  convention  in  the  gymnasium 
one  night,  and  forestalled  the  National  Republican  Conven- 
tion by  nominating  Harrison  and  Morton. 

The  days  were  getting  longer  now,  and  we  began  to 
fully  enjoy  that  outdoor  life  for  which  Princeton  is  so 
famous.  The  various  scrub  base-ball  teams  began  to  bestir 
themselves,  and  exciting  contests  were  held  every  afternoon 
behind  Witherspoon.      It  was  during  this  era  that  Cum- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  49 

mings  Waldo  Cherry  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
built  for  a  catcher.  Nothing  could  dissuade  him  from  this 
opinion,  and  so  he  purchased  a  mammoth  glove,  a  mask, 
and  a  chest  protector,  and  started  into  business.  Cherry's 
fingers  had  an  evil  tendency  of  always  getting  in  front  of 
the  ball,  and  after  he  had  received  four  or  five  swift  "  in- 
shoots"  upon  his  bare  hands  he  sometimes  became  a  little 
angry,  and  would  throw  the  ball  over  the  centre  fielder's 
head.  All  the  little  muckers  in  town  knew  Cherry's  pe-, 
culiar  style  of  playing  ball  within  two  weeks,  and  it  did 
not  add  anything  to  his  equanimity  to  have  a  crowd  of 
these  pesky  youngsters  m.aking  comments.  However,  his 
perseverance  overcame  all  obstacles,  until  now  he  is  nearly 
as  active  a  back-stop  as  Teddy  Humphrey. 

The  election  of  ofiicers  for  the  managerships  of  the 
Foot-ball,  Base-ball,  and  Track  Associations  brought  out 
all  the  latent  politicians  in  the  class,  and  on  the  morning  of 
an  election  the  campus  would  be  filled  with  hustlers  who 
button-holed  every  passer-by  in  an  endeavor  to  impress 
him  with  the  merits  of  their  favorite  candidates.  It  was 
in  this  line  that  "  Bill  Nye  "  Ramsdell  was  supreme.  He 
laid  out  his  campaigns  like  a  ward  politician,  and  carried 
his  system  through  from  start  to  finish. 

Theodore  Friend  Humphrey  was  elected  to  the  man- 
agership of  the  Base-ball  Association,  James  McNaughton 
Thompson  to  a  like  position  in  the  Foot-ball  Association, 
and  Charley  Mcllwain  stepped  into  the  vacant  berth  in  the 
Track  Association. 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Meanwhile  the  'Varsity  was  playing  an  unlucky  game, 
and  have  lost  one  game  each  wdth  Pennsylvania,  Harvard, 
and  Yale. 

How^ever,  we  manage  to  pull  ourselves  and  won  the 
second  game  from  Penn  on  May  16th. 

Perhaps  the  biggest  novelty  that  Spring  was  the  anni- 
versary of  the  founding  of  the  Princeton  Fire  Department. 
All  day  long  the  streets  were  thronged  with  visiting  firemen 
in  rubber  helmets,  blue  flannel  shirts,  and  gray  pantaloons. 
A  brass  band  was  playing  in  front  of  every  saloon  and  the 
town  was  full  of  mirth  and  gayety.  In  the  afternoon  they 
had  an  exhibition  by  one  of  their  crack  companies,  and 
threw  a  stream  of  water  a  hundred  yards  or  more  in  all 
directions,  "  not  caring  a  darn"  how  many  clean  pairs  of 
duck  trousers  they  ruined.  Free  beer  was  served  that  even- 
ing, a  large  number  of  the  Sophomore  class  partaking  of 
their  hospitality. 

The  last  part  of  May  was  unfortunate  from  an  athletic 
point  of  view,  as  our  track  team  got  only  third  place  in  the 
IntercoUegiates  and  Harvard  scored  her  second  victory  over 
us  in  base-ball. 

June  brought  with  it  plenty  of  hot  weather  and  abun- 
dance of  examinations.  This  terrible  combination  crushed 
us,  and  our  base-ball  team  submitted  to  a  second  defeat  at 
the  hands  of  Yale. 

The  one  hundred  and  forty-fifth  annual  commencement 
saw  the  Class  of  'Ninety-two  depart,  and  brought  us  half 
way  through  our  existence  as  an  undergraduate  body. 


CHAPTER    III. 


-®- 


JUNIOR    YEAR. 


JUNIOR    YEAR. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  vacation  between  So^^h- 
omore  and  Junior  years  in  Princeton  produces  a  revolution 
in  the  standpoint  from  which  one  views  undergraduate  life. 
As  underclassmen  we  felt  that  the  principal  aim  of  exist- 
ance  here  was  to  get  through  our  examinations,  have  a  good 
time,  keep  our  Class  up  to  standard,  and  let  the  rest  of  the 
College  take  care  of  itself  in  whatever  way  it  saw  fit,  as  long 
as  our  rights  were  not  infringed  upon.  But  when  we  re- 
turned in  Junior  year  we  looked  at  it  from  an  altogether 
different  point  of  Adew.  Our  horizon  was  broadened  im- 
measurably, and  we  thought  that  we  understood  the  true  re- 
lationship which  should  exist  between  Alumnus  and  Under- 
graduate, between  Professor  and  Student.  Some  of  us 
wanted  a  finger  in  the  pie  of  governing,  and  felt  capable  of 
running  the  whole  machine  with  less  friction  than  exists 
under  the  present  regime.  The  days  of  squabbles  with  the 
Class  above  us  and  below  us  were  over,  and  we  considered 
-ourselves  collegians  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term. 

A  few  of  our  number  had  dropped  out,  and  were  missed. 
Kirk  Rankin,  Ed  Wright,  Ernie  Ramsdell,  Walter  Clark, 
Billy  Fisk,  and  others,  who  had  endeared  themselves  to  all, 
seemed  to  leave  vacant  spaces. 

(53) 


54  HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF   '94. 

We  marked  several  accessions  of  note  also.  There  was 
Dick  Hatton  and  Kajiwara,  Mike  Foster  and  Snitcher,  Billy 
Williams,  Cleindinst,  and  Cochran. 

We  were  given  a  good  deal  of  latitude  in  the  matter  of 
choice  of  electives,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  great 
bulk  of  Princeton  Juniors  came  here  for  the  sake  of  an  ar- 
tistic education.  The  Art  courses  were  liberally  patronized 
by  most  of  the  broad-minded  men  in  the  Class. 

We  took  a  kind  of  elder  brotherly  interest  in  the  Fresh- 
men, and  looked  down  upon  their  strife  with  the  Sopho- 
mores in  a  way  which  was  very  amusing,  when  one  thinks 
that  we  had  been  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  business 
some  six  months  before. 

The  Juniors  superintended  the  rush,  which  occurred 
soon  after  the  opening  of  College,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  our  lives  we  enjoyed  the  spectacle.  It  was  so  comfort- 
able to  lean  up  against  a  post  and  watch  them  pummel 
one  another.  We  saw  many  ludicrous  situations  which 
had  missed  us  altogether  in  former  years. 

When  it  came  time  for  the  Class  base-ball  series,  our 
team  was  beaten  by  both  'Ninety-three  and  'Ninety-five. 
Of  course,  these  defeats  were  unpleasant,  but  they  were  not 
the  supreme  struggles  of  the  series,  and  we  did  not  care 
much,  anyway. 

The  Freshmen-Sophomore  game  that  year  was  a  very 
pretty  contest,  though  a  little  slow,  to  our  minds.  We  led 
the  cheering  for  our  protegees  and  saw  them  home  safely, 
while  the  'Ninety-five  men  looked  on  askance. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  55 

The  two  great  sources  of  amusement  that  Fall  were  our 
political  meetings  and  parades  ;  and  the  foot-ball  situation. 

The  former  were  a  constant  source  of  pleasure,  as  the 
three  clubs,  the  Republican,  the  Democratic,  and  the  Pro- 
hibitionist, all  had  uniforms  and  torches. 

The  Republicans  wore  a  very  poor  grade  of  old  brown 
linen  dusters  and  a  brown  mortar-board,  wdiich  insisted  upon 
curling  up  at  the  corners.  There  was  no  fit  to  the  uniform 
at  all,  and  most  of  them  were  of  the  same  size. 

It  was  very  amusing  to  see  "  Long  "  Dickey  and  "  Runt" 
Carlyle  marching  side  by  side  in  some  of  our  numerous 
parades,  wearing  interchangeable  gowns. 

But  the  Democrats  had  the  starthng  costume.  It  was  a 
Zouave  uniform,  comprising  a  red  cap,  blue  jacket,  red 
trousers  very  much  bagged,  and  tying  below^  the  knee  with 
white  strings.  Add  to  this  a  pair  of  white  leggings  and  you 
have  this  remarkable  combination  complete. 

This  was  the  dress  of  the  rank  and  file,  but  the  officers 
and  members  of  the  band  were  even  more  wonderfully 
appareled. 

Their  coats,  instead  of  being  the  abbreviated  jackets 
w^hich  have  been  mentioned,  were  long  frocks,  made  of 
white  canvas  and  trimmed  with  red.  They  buttoned  closely 
up  to  the  neck  with  big  brass  buttons,  and  had  split  tails 
behind  in  the  most  approved  fashion. 

These  favored  few  wore  tin  helmets,  with  a  large  spike 
in  the  centre  thereof.  To  see  "  Clytie  "  George  in  his  white 
coat  as  he  led  the  host  on  to  victory  and  Kingston  was  worth 


56  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

going.a  long  distance  out  of  one's  way.  A  special  coat  had 
to  be  ordered  for  him,  as  there  was  not  one  in  the  whole  lot 
which  he  did  not  fill  to  overflowing.  These  suits  were  stored 
in  the  "  Lit."  room  in  North  Reunion,  and  ''  Sport  "  Cherry 
was  their  custodian.  His  wrath  was  aroused  by  hourly  dis- 
coveries that  sundry  outfits  had  been  abstracted  in  his  ab- 
sence, and  he  made  a  secret  though  vain  hunt  for  the  mis- 
creants. Finally  the  committee,  unable  to  collect  the  money 
to  pay  for  their  finery,  declared  themselves  insolvent,  and 
turned  their  accounts  over  to  a  wealthy  member  of  Demo- 
cratic principles,  who  immediately  handed  out  the  necessary 
cash. 

''  Horse  "  Nixon  was  the  high  muck-a-muck  of  the  Re- 
publican Central  Committee,  and  dealt  out  torches  and  oil 
to  all  comers.  Jim  Brodnax  was  the  king  of  the  Prohibi- 
tionists, and  had  a  keg  of  beer  on  tap  in  his  room  from  the 
middle  of  October  till  after  elections. 

Who  will  ever  forget  the  two  grand  rallies  wdiicli  occurred 
along  in  late  October,  when  to  the  sound  of  martial  music 
w^e  marched  up  and  down  Nassau  Street  for  three  hours  ! 

Trenton,  Hightstown,  Penns  Neck,  and  Squacks  all  sent 
up  large  delegations,  and  the  line  of  march  was  decorated 
by  the  loyal  townspeople. 

But  we  must  confess  that  we  did  not  act  very  courteously 
to  our  guests. 

They  complained  that  the  students  were  an  organized 
gang  of  thieves,  asserting  that  stray  helmets,  torches,  and 
flasks   were  purloined  by  the  collegians,  and  even   if   the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  57 

offender  was  caught  they  were  forced  to  let  him  alone  by  his 
class-mates. 

On  the  night  of  the  grand  Democratic  rally  Jimmie 
Gibson  was  determined  to  secure  a  sample  of  a  certain  kind 
of  helmet  which  had  caught  his  eye,  to  complete  his  collec- 
'tion.  Engaging  Charlie  Robinson  as  a  confederate,  he 
approached  a  wearer  of  the  coveted  head-piece,  and  while 
Charlie  offered  the  stranger  a  cigarette,  "  Gib  "  grabbed  the 
helmet  and  lit  out  for  Princeton,  pursued  by  four  or  five 
angry  Trentonites.  Of  course  he  escaped,  for  Gib  goes  down 
to  the  'Varsity  grounds  to  train  for  the  track  team  every 
year,  but  in  his  headlong  flight  ran  plump  into  the  arms  of 
Sam  Calhoun,  our  genial  night  Proctor. 

Gib  explained  that  a  man  had  given  him  the  helmet, 
and  that  he  was  running  because  he  was  in  a  hurry  to  get 
back  to  his  room,  where  a  party  of  New  York  friends  were 
quartered.  He  told  a  straight  story,  until  Sam  happened  to 
glance  over  at  his  room  and  saw  that  it  was  dark  as  Erebus. 

But  his  captor  was  lenient,  and  released  him  on  condi- 
tion that  he  go  at  once  to  bed. 

Pat  Lindsay  and  Archie  Pepper  got  into  a  slight  mis- 
understanding down  at  the  station  that  night,  and  were 
obliged  to  draw  "  the  guns,"  which,  as  true  Southerners, 
they  always  carry,  before  they  could  escape. 

On  election  day  many  of  us  walked  up  to  the  polls  and 
cast  our  first  votes  for  President,  but  even  Princeton,  which 
is  an  overwhelmingly  Republican  community,  could  not 
change  the  general  results. 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Our  foot-ball  men  were  in  strict  training,  and  the  team 
was  making  great  strides  towards  championship  form.  They 
overstepped  themselves,  falling  over  a  tough  snag  in  the 
shape  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  the  most  disgruntled  crowd  which  returned  from 
Manheim  that  night,  ever  seen  upon  tlic  campus.  Many 
'Ninety-four  men  tried  to  drown  their  sorrows  in  the  flowing 
bowl ;  yea,  even  some  who  never  before  had  tasted  strong 
drink.  The  whole  College  was  in  mourning  for  weeks,  and 
the  Alumni  came  down  to  comfort  us  in  our  sorrows.  On 
Thanksgiving  Yale  beat  us  by  a  narrow  margin,  and  we 
had  good  cause  to  believe  that  "  next  year  we  will  be  at 
the  head  of  the  procession." 

The  great  progress  of  the  team  during  the  last  part  of 
the  season  can  be  traced  directly  to  Reddy  Turner's  efficient 
captaincy  of  the  scrub.  Brick  had  a  system  all  his  own, 
and  when  the  time  came  for  his  side  to  take  the  ball  he 
would  come  up  to  his  half-backs,  tell  them  exactly  where  to 
run,  and  then  ejaculate,  one,  two,  three,  five,  six,  seven,  or 
some  other  mystic  symbol,  pausing  to  take  a  deep  breath 
between  each  number.  Now,  his  signals  did  not  mean 
anything  at  all,  but  they  served  to  mystify  the  'Varsity, 
who  believed  his  system  to  be  the  most  intricate  one  ever 
invented.  Brick  sprained  his  knee  that  fall,  and  in  conse- 
quence received  the  privilege  of  attending  chapel  optionally 
until  he  recovered.  Consequently  he  never  has  gotten  over 
the  strain,  and  is  limping  to  this  day — ^whenever  he  meets  a 
member  of  the  Absence  Committee. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  59 

Harry  Riggs  was  unable  to  attend  morning  service  also 
on  account  of  an  attack  of  indigestion  \Yhich  lasted  all 
year. 

There  were  five  other  lazy  men  in  our  Class  who  man- 
aged to  pull  the  wool  over  the  Faculty's  eyes  with  the  same 
result. 

The  latter  part  of  the  foot-ball  season  brought  out  Jim 
Blake  and  ^' Windy"  Allen,  who  were  afterwards  to  fill  the 
hole  in  our  team  caused  by  Homans  leaving. 

The  only  excitement  during  the  month  of  December 
was  the  spirited  contest  for  places  on  the  chess  teaAi.  The 
contest  lay  between  four  members  of  our  Class — Ewing, 
Dickey,  Morrison,  and  Roberts ;  the  first  two  winning  the 
places  by  a  short  neck.  The  games  occasioned  intense  inter- 
est, and  were  carefully  contested,  each  move  sometimes  tak- 
ing thirty  minutes.  Borneo  Roberts  and  Buck  Ewing  played 
for  two  whole  days  upon  one  game,  and  then  declared  it  a 
draw.  During  the  tournament  the  room  in  which  the  con- 
test was  held  would  be  thronged  with  a  multitude  hanging 
upon  each  move  with  bated  breath,  and  those  unable  to  en- 
ter the  sacred  precincts  would  be  told  that  "  Borneo  has  just 
moved  his  knight's  pawn  from  X  14  y  to  p.  d.  q.  27. 

The  College  was  solicited  to  send  our  champions  up  to 
New  York  during  the  Christmas  holidays  to  play  against 
representatives  of  Harvard,  Columbia,  and  Yale,  for  an 
intercollegiate  cup.  Believing  our  team  invincible,  we 
reached  deep  down  into  our  trouser  pockets  and  offered 
our  little  quarters  and  fifty-cent  pieces  to  such  an  extent 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

that  the  boys  stayed  ten  days  after  College  opened  and  saw 
the  town.  After  great  mental  exertion  tlie}^  managed  to 
come  out  fourth.  Chess  was  a  very  tender  subject  with 
Dickey  for  some  time,  and  he  would  become  red-headed  if 
any  one  even  mentioned  dominoes  in  his  presence. 

During  this  vacation  the  Glee  Club  Organization,  under 
the  fatherly  care  of  A.  D.  Jeniiey,  made  tlie  most  successful 
tour  the}^  have  ever  attempted.  Tom  Bailey,  ''  Chip  "  Mc- 
Campbell,  Charley  McKenzie,  Bennie  Benson,  Al  Wood- 
ruff, Charley  Worden,  and  "Weel"  Rogers  vocalized,  while 
Corney  Kenly  and  Bill  Doty  picked  the  banjo  and  man- 
dolin respectively.  Worden  and  Rogers  served  in  a  double 
capacity,  as  the  former  played  on  the  mandolin  and  the  latter 
blew  the  whistle.    Their  experiences  were  many  and  varied. 

In  Omaha,  McKenzie  was  introduced  to  a  maiden  lady 
of  some  years,  who  was  greatly  taken  with  our  captain's 
handsome  countenance  and  stahvart  figure.  Slie  engaged 
Mac  in  conversation  and  held  him  so  for  tliree  long  hours, 
though  he  made  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  escape. 

In  St.  Louis,  Bennie  Benson,  the  darling  of  Philadel- 
phia's swelldom,  had  an  animated  discussion  with  a  cab- 
driver,  who  affirmed  that  Ben  had  used  his  equipage  and 
refused  to  pay  liiiu.  Mr.  Benson,  becoming  tired  of  the 
conversation,  informed  the  driver  that  he  was  a  liar,  and 
was  promptly  knocked  down.  Upon  collecting  his  scattered 
senses  Ben  fled  to  his  hotel  and  told  the  boys  a  startling  tale 
of  Western  manners.  He  had  been  jumped  upon  by  four 
men,  two  of  whom  he  disabled,  and  was  only  overcome  by 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  61 

being  struck  from  behind  with  a  slung-shot.  His  nose  was 
broken,  three  teeth  had  been  knocked  down  his  throat,  and 
he  knew  both  his  eyes  would  be  black.  He  asked  Jen  if 
he  had  better  telegraph  for  Benson  pater,  and  was  dissatis- 
fied upon  being  assured  that  it  was  hardly  necessary. 

A  careful  examination  of  Bennie's  anatomy  was  insti- 
tuted and  disclosed  a  slight  scratch  on  his  nose. 

The  only  thing  which  detracted  from  the  enjoyment  of 
the  trip  was  the  fact  tliat  Eddie  Laughlin  was  not  along. 

Eddie  had  consulted  the  leader  as  to  the  advisability  of 
taking  vocal  lessons,  and  had  been  informed  that  he  certainly 
would  need  it  before  he  would  be  acceptable,  but,  nothing 
daunted,  he  had  decided  to  make  an  attempt  anyway.  He 
gave  up  standing  out  in  front  of  Reunion  and  yelling, 
"  Hello,  Tom  Bailey  !  Hello,  Teddy  Humphre}^  !  Come  and 
take  a  walk,"  and  even  restricted  his  diet  in  hopes  of  im- 
proving the  timbre  of  his  voice. 

But  it  availed  him  nothing,  and  a  Freshman  filled  the 
place  he  was  working  for. 

Upon  coming  back  from  the  Christmas  holidays  we  were 
shocked  to  hear  of  the  sudden  death  of  General  Karg6. 
His  elective  class  from  'Ninety-four  was  large,  and  those  who 
had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  be  under  his  instruction  felt  his 
death  as  a  personal  loss.  The  General  possessed  a  fund  of 
knowledge  which  seemed  to  embrace  all  branches  of  study, 
and  we  who  were  in  his  classes  could  not  but  be  broadened 
mentally  and  morally  by  our  contact  with  him.     He  was  a 


62  HISTORY  OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

brave  soldier,  a  learned  instructor,  an  honorable  Christian 
gentleman,  and  left  a  memory  in  Princeton  which  can 
hardly  be  forgotten. 

The  days  from  the  opening  of  College  to  the  beginning 
of  the  mid-year  examinations  passed  swiftly  by,  and  left  but 
little  results,  with  the  exception  of  marking  the  adoption  of 
our  present  examination  system. 

Tlie  hours  which  had  been  spent  upon  fashioning  an  in- 
tricate and  comprehensive  "  crib "  were  now  spent  upon 
polling  the  subject  itself,  witli  the  amazing  result  that  con- 
firmed "  cribbers,"  men  who  had  never  once  thought  of 
entering  Examination  Hall  without  one  of  these  little  aids 
to  memory,  and  who  had  fallen  below  the  passing  grade 
time  after  time,  now  escaped  without  a  condition.  It  was 
a  glorious  revolution,  and  raised  the  standard  of  Princeton 
honor  high  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

Washington's  Birthday  quickly  arrived  and  we  Juniors 
went  to  tlie  morning  exercises  at  peace  with  the  world  and 
undisturbed.  We  were  above  the  childish  brawls  of  the 
underclassmen,  and  could  look  calmly  on  and  see  the 
Senior   orator   roast   his  class-mates  until   they   squirmed. 

"  Mousie  "  Forsyth  was  the  Class  orator  and  showed  that 
his  oratorical  abilities  were  about  on  a  par  with  his  pitch- 
ing. By  this  we  do  not  mean  to  cast  any  reflections  on  his 
speech  either,  for  has  he  not  shown  that  he  is  a  first-class 
man  on  the  base-ball  diamond,  after  he  once  gets  started  ? 

George  has  one  peculiarity  which  was  strikingly  evinced 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  63 

in  that  speech.  His  gaze  is  directed  upon  things  above  this 
mundane  sphere  of  ours,  and  he  looks  for  things  higher, 
nobler,  purer.  He  directs  his  mild  gray  eyes  upwards,  not 
downwards,  for  the  ravishing  glances  he  concentrated  upon 
the  skylight  that  morning  in  the  gym.  strained  the  whole 
roof. 

The  Princeton- Yale  debate,  held  in  the  middle  of  March, 
w^as  the  next  thing  in  which  our  Class  took  a  prominent 
part.  Two  of  the  participants  were  'Xinety-four  men — 
Bill  Sykes  and  Donald  McCall — and  both  smashed  Yale 
arguments  in  a  manner  which  was  edifying.  The  only 
trouble  with  Donald  was  that  he  was  a  little  inclined  to 
use  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Convention  tone.  Jim  Fentress  says 
he  was  afraid  every  minute  that  ]\Iac  would  forget  his 
lines,  and  absent-mindedly  step  to  the  front  of  the  stage 
and  inquire  in  moving  tones,  "Is  there  another?" 

Sykes  pranced  back  and  forth  upon  the  platform,  ges- 
ticulating wildly  with  his  fists,  and  ready  to  knock  down 
any  line  of  Yale  logic  before  it  was  half  uttered.  His 
collar  slipped  a  link,  his  tie  mounted  his  ear,  his  shirt 
bosom  cracked  straight  across  the  middle  with  a  deafening- 
report,  but  our  noble  Sau We  must  beg  the  reader's 

pardon,  for  we  were  about  to  call  Bill  by  a  name  he  espe- 
cially loathes.  He  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  treat  the 
historians  on  four  separate  and  distinct  occasions  in  con- 
sideration of  our  omitting  it. 

As  we  were  saying,  Mr.  Sykes  cared  nothing  at  all  for 
appearances,  but  went  on  in  his  harangue  until  time  was 


64  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

called.  No  decision  was  rendered  upon  the  respective  mer- 
its of  the  two  opposing  sides,  though  Sykes  undoubtedly 
carried  off  the  palm  of  victory,  using  nearly  half  again  as 
many  words  in  his  allotted  time  as  did  any  of  the  other 
speakers. 

Along  at  the  last  of  the  month  the  elections  to  the 
Princetonian  and  "  Lit."  were  announced. 

On  the  Princetonian  two  'Ninety-four  men  were  already 
veterans.  Bill  Spruance  had  begun  at  the  bottom  in  Fresh- 
man year,  working  on  the  ''  Here  and  There  "  department, 
and  gradually  advancing  until  he  was  permitted  to  write 
notices  of  Philadelphia  meetings  upon  the  front  page. 

John  Davidson  McCord  (he  of  the  vulgar  nickname) 
had  been  taking  care  of  the  office  since  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  filing  the  exchanges,  emptying  waste-paper  baskets, 
and  sweeping  out  in  the  mornings. 

Billy  Fisk  was  also  one  of  the  old  board  of  editors,  but 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  College  on  account  of  ill  health. 

"Spruke"  and  McCord  were  the  nucleus  around  which 
the  new  board  was  formed,  "  Mud  "  Archer,  Jimmy  Bathgate, 
Jack  Wilkins,  and  John  Neeley  being  chosen  to  fill  up  the 
number.     They  elected  Mike  Fisher  as  business  manager. 

The  "  Lit."  elections  were  the  cause  of  a  great  mental  strain 
to  several  members  of  the  Class.  On  the  night  on  which 
they  were  to  be  announced  Patterson  wandered  aimlessly 
around  the  campus  seeking  for  consolation,  for  he  had 
worked  long  and  faithfully,  and  now  feared  that  it  would 
count  him  nothing.     He  had  turned  out  several  sweet  little 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  Go 

poems,  and  one  story  of  his,  entitled  ''Little  Peyton;  or, 
How  I  Got  Slugged  in  Freshman  Year,"  had  received  favor- 
able criticisms  on  all  hands.  Pat  finally  ended  np  by  call- 
ing upon  Sykes,  who  was  also  a  candidate  for  literary 
honors,  and  the  two  talked  till  on  towards  morning,  hoping 
that  they  might  hear  something  as  to  their  fate.  Finally, 
Sykes  stepped  out  for  a  moment,  and  on  coming  back  an- 
nounced in  a  lugubrious  voice,  ''  Pat,  we  ain't  in  it.  The 
whole  board  has  been  elected,  and  we  are  both  carefully 
omitted."  Of  course,  Pat  swallowed  the  story,  for  he  is  an 
innocent  child,  and  with  bitter  tears  exclaimed,  "  I  think  it's 
real  mean  !  The  nasty  thing  is  no  good  anyhow,  and  I'm 
glad  I  didn't  make  it."  He  went  to  bed  in  sorrow,  and 
spent  a  sleepless  night  bemoaning  his  fate. 

The  authentic  elections  were  posted  in  the  morning. 

Sykes  was  managing  editor,  and  was  assisted  by  Forsyth, 
Humphrey,  Cherry,  Patterson,  and  Jenkins.  They  elected 
Robert  P.  Jack  to  the  treasurership,  and  proceeded  to  storm 
Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Trenton  in  a  still  hunt  for  ad- 
vertisements. 

Both  the  Princetonlan  and  "Lit."  men  spent  their  Easter 
holidays  in  this  unpleasant  business,  and  came  back  with 
sad  tales  of  being  kicked  out  of  stores,  waiting  to  see  men 
who  were  out  of  town,  and  being  politely  asked  to  call  in 
September. 

Cherry  tried  it  for  three  days  in  Philadelphia,  and  caught 
a  chronic  case  of  "  sour-ball,"  which  broke  all  previous  rec- 
ords. 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE   CLASS    OF    '94. 

April  brought  with  it  an  abundance  of  bad  weather.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  a  Spring  which  surpassed  the  preceding 
two  in  the  number  of  unpleasant  days.  The  base-ball  team 
took  a  Southern  trip  early  in  the  month,  and  made  a  splendid 
record,  winning  all  their  games.  ,Gaddy  Drake  w^as  the  regu- 
lar pitcher,  and  did  splendid  work,  while  Chip  McKenzie, 
playing  in  left  field,  hit  the  ball  in  a  way  which  gave  him  a 
beautiful  batting  average.  These  were  the  only  'Ninety-four 
men  upon  the  team. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  sickness  in  College  this  Spring, 
and  when  twenty  or  more  of  our  gallant  Juniors  came  down 
with  the  mumps  and  measles,  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  re- 
turning to  our  second  childhood.  If  it  had  only  been  brain 
fever,  superinduced  by  over-study,  or  nervous  exhaustion, 
or  some  respectable  disease,  the  sufferers  might  have  ex- 
tracted some  sympathy,  but  when  a  man  said  he  had  been 
confined  for  two  weeks  with  the  mumps  he  was  considered 
an  object  for  good-natured  chaff.  The  excuse  worked  with 
the  Faculty,  however,  in  splendid  style. 

Patterson  was  the  only  man  who  indulged  in  the  luxury 
of  a  fancy  disease,  and  when  he  told  his  friends  that  the 
doctors  were  certain  he  had  catarrh  of  the  stomach,  we  all 
looked  grave,  though  nobody  knew  exactly  what  it  was. 

Pat  went  on  to  say  that  he  was  afraid  he  might  have  to 
diet  to  overcome  his  trouble.  It  happened  the  very  next 
morning  that  he  had  a  severe  headache,  and  sent  down 
word  that  his  breakfast  must  be  sent  up  to  his  room. 
Grier  and  Herb  Fisher  took  charge  of  the  matter,  and  when 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  67 

Pat  opened  the  big  basket  which  they  carried  up  to  his 
room  he  found  two  small  pieces  of  toast  and  an  immense 
bouquet  of  dandelions,  to  which  was  attached  a  card 
stating  that  the  Club  sent  its  deepest  sympathy.  The 
two  hard-hearted  wretches  appeared  terribly  alarmed  by  his 
symptoms,  and  Fish,  who  had  studied  a  little  medicine,  de- 
cided he  had  a  complication  of  diseases,  any  one  of  which 
was  necessarily  fatal.  Every  two  or  three  hours  they  would 
drop  in  and  ask  him  how  he  was  feeling,  until  they  got  Pat 
so  alarmed  that  he  stayed  in  bed  for  two  da3^s. 

As  soon  as  the  warm  weather  came  on  a  large  number  of 
our  Class  made  daily  pilgrimages  to  the  canal  and  Millstone 
to  go  in  swimming.  The  number  so  increased  that  finally 
a  crowd  of  us  were  driven  away  by  a  farmer  with  a  shot- 
gun, who  declared  that  "that  'air  crick  aint  no  bath-tub  for 
all  the  stujents  up  to  Princeton."  He  gave  as  a  minor 
reason  for  our  leaving  that  "  the  feller  in  the  red  britches 
scared  his  caows,"  this  remark  applying  to  Harry  Akin, 
who  used  a  pair  of  Zouave  trousers,  which  he  had  obtained 
during  the  campaign,  as  a  bathing  suit. 

McLeish  and  Sabine  had  a  falling-out  this  Spring  which 
approached  a  fatal  ending.  "  Smiles  "  challenged  Sabine  to 
a  duel  with  broad-swords,  and  though  the  latter  boasts  a 
long  line  of  Dutch  ancestors,  renowned  in  the  time  of  Will- 
iam of  Orange  for  their  pugnacity,  his  fighting  blood  ab- 
solutely refused  to  come  to  the  surface,  and  he  respectfully 
declined  the  challenge.  Smiles  took  him  unawares  the  next 
day,  upon  the  campus,  and  jumping  upon  his  back  pulled 


68  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

out  a  handful  of  curly  locks  before  the  spectators  could 
interfere.  As  was  natural,  this  added  to  their  strained  re- 
lationship, but  though  Bill  Meredith  spent  the  better  part 
of  three  days  trying  to  work  Sabine  up  to  a  fighting  pitch, 
no  further  hostilities  followed. 

Since  that  time  these  whilom  friends  have  gone  their 
separate  ways,  Sabine  training  exclusively  with  Thaw  and 
his  w^orshipers,  and  helping  the  Pittsburgh  millionaire  to 
foot  the  bills. 

Pennsylvania  was  the  only  one  of  the  big  teams  we  could 
defeat  this  year.  We  won  two  out  of  three  times  in  the 
series  with  her,  but  lost  two  straight  to  Harvard  and  three 
to  Yale. 

The  track  team  completed  the  discouragement  to  our 
athletic  hopes  by  being  beaten  out  for  third  place  in  the 
intercollegiates  by  Pennsylvania.  But  we  bore  our  sor- 
rows in  silence,  and  cheerfully  murmured  ''  Better  luck  in 
the  Fall." 

A  few  days  more  and  commencement  was  upon  us,  and 
'Ninety-three,  our  old  enemies,  afterwards  our  friends,  went 
to  join  the  great  majority. 


CHAPTER    IV 


-©- 


SENIOR    YEAR, 


SENIOR    YEAR. 

For  the  last  time  as  Undergraduates  our  Class  returned 
to  Princeton  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  prepared  for 
the  grand  climax  of  our  college  existence. 

For  the  first  two  weeks  there  were  -so  many  "  World's 
Fair  "  experiences  related  that  it  looked  as  if  the  whole  Class 
had  spent  the  entire  Summer  there.  Strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, we  did  not  talk  the  whole  time  about  the  grandeur  of 
the  Exhibition,  but  gave  a  few  spare  moments  up  to  relat- 
ing the  various  scrapes  we  got  into  and  the  small  holes  we 
crawled  out  of.  One  couldn't  walk  a  hundred  yards  on  the 
"  Midway"  any  day  throughout  the  long  Summer  without 
hearing  the  "  How  are  you,  old  man !  "  of  some  college  friend. 

It  was  in  this  neighborhood  that  the  greater  part  of  our 
experiences  were  met  with. 

"  Cairo  "  and  the  "  Persian  Theatre  "  were  our  favorite 
loafing  places  during  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  the  boys 
flocked  to  "  Old  Vienna  "  and  drank  their  beer,  pounding 
with  their  steins  upon  the  tables  in  accompaniment  to  some 
old  college  song. 

Frank  Riggs  got  into  trouble  one  night  by  trying  to 
swipe  a  silver  spigot  which  was  sticking  in  a  beer  keg.  He 
had  secured  it  and  was  nearly  out  of  harm's  w^ay  w^hen  it 
slipped  from  under  his  coat,  and  falling  to  the  ground  drew 
all  eyes  to  him.     Frank  made  a  swift  retreat,  but  he  was 

(71) 


72  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OP    '94. 

overtaken  and  hauled  back  by  three  angry  Dutchmen,  and 
only  escaped  by  calling  for  Harry  and  proving  an  alibi.  '  The 
waiters  could  not  possibly  say  which  was  the  sinner  and 
which  was  guiltless,  though  if  they  had  known  the  boys 
as  well  as  we  do  Francis  would  never  have  been  released. 

These  two,  with  Rankin,  who  had  joined  them  there,  and 
the  two  Kennedys,  spent  one  joyous  forenoon  in  strewing  the 
''Streets  of  Cairo"  witli  tacks,  and  then  hearing  the  bare- 
footed Orientals  howl  when  they  trod  on  them. 

Bennie  Benson,  as  usual,  was  right  in  with  the  nobility, 
hobnobbing  with  the  Higanbothams  and  other  lords  of  the 
Exposition. 

Jack  Bushnell  visited  "Cyclone"  Van  Nortwick  and 
made  such  an  impression  on  Van's  best  girl  that  he  was 
requested  to  depart. 

Winnie  Kennedy  reported  a  fine  time,  with  lots  to  drink, 
while  Frank  McCune's  only  objection  was  that  you  had  to 
get  up  so  blamed  early  in  the  morning  to  accomplish  any 
sight-seeing  before  noon. 

It  seemed  so  very  strange  to  come  back  to  Princeton  as 
Seniors.  Back  in  Freshman  year  we  had  looked  upon 
Juniors  with  awe  and  reverence,  and  as  for  Seniors,  no 
words  can  describe  our  feelings  toward  them.  They  were  a 
kind  of  superior  being,  far  higher  in  the  scale  of  existence 
than  the  Professors. 

And  now  we  had  reached  that  exalted  station ! 

We  felt  our  responsibilities  weighing  us  down  heavily. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  73 

As  Dr.  Patton  told  us,  "  You  men  are  the  formers  of 
Undergraduate  opinion.  You  rule  the  roost."  Perhaps 
these  were  not  the  exact  words  he  used,  but  the  meaning 
is  the  same.  But  we  determined  to  make  our  short  rule 
a  momentous  one,  and  took  up  our  burden  of  responsibility 
blithely,  thinking  that  we  were  the  men  for  the  occasion. 
Whether  our  confidence  was  justified  is  hard  to  judge,  for 
there  have  been  more  outbreaks  against  the  governing- 
body  than  in  any  year  since  'Xinety-four  has  been  in 
College.  AYe  believe  that  these  disturbances  have  all,  or 
nearly  all,  been  along  the  line  of  progress,  and  have  ben- 
efited the  community,  though  some  might  disagree  with  us. 

Nearly  every  one  who  was  with  us  in  Junior  year  was 
back  again,  and  the  accessions  to  our  numbers  did  not 
exceed  four  or  five. 

The  inter-class  base-ball  games  occupied  our  attention 
for  a  few  days,  and  we  loafed  down  to  the  'Yarsity  grounds 
to  see  our  team  win  from  'Ninety-six  and  'Ninety-seven, 
though  our  colors  were  lowered  by  'Ninety-five. 

The  following  was  the  make-up  of  the  team  : — 

McKexzie Short  stop. 

Lindsay      Catcher. 

KiNCx Second  base. 

Creigh Left  field. 

Drake C'entre  field. 

Ferris Right  field. 

Young First  base. 

Neeley Third  base. 

Yax  Nortwick Pitcher. 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Of  these  nine  good  men  Gaddy  Drake  and  Harvey 
Young  are  the  only  ones  who  played  in  the  Class  games 
in  the  Fall  of  1890,  when,  as  Freshmen,  we  entered  Prince- 
ton. Gaddy  was  now  really  not  in  College,  having  come 
back  just  to  get  us  started  well,  leaving  Harvey  as  the  only 
man  who  played  on  both  teams. 

Our  foot-ball  men  had  spent  the  two  weeks  before  the 
opening  of  College  up  on  Long  Island  Sound,  and  came 
back  a  day  or  so  after  College  opened  in  splendid  physical 
condition.  They  played  a  careful  game  all  season  long,  not 
giving  their  opponents  much  chance  to  gauge  their  abilities. 

Much  of  the  practice  was  carried  on  behind  closed  gates, 
and  the  Undergraduates  knew  but  little  more  than  the  out- 
side 2:>ublic  about  their  real  playing  ability.  Lawrenceville 
nearly  beat  us,  right  in  the  middle  of  the  season,  and  later 
Lehigh  scored  upon  us  in  the  second  half. 

Jim  Blake  and  "  Windy "  Allen  were  making  a  hard 
struggle  for  full-back,  when  the  latter  was  injured,  and 
Jim  put  in  the  time  to  such  good  advantage  that  though  he 
himself  was  on  the  retired  list  for  about  half  the  season  his 
opponent  was  outclassed.  The  great  trouble  with  Fred  was 
that  he  always  wanted  to  stop  and  argue  the  advisability  of 
plays  after  the  signal  had  been  given;  and  though,  theo- 
retically, a  general  discussion  will  often  clear  up  many  a 
knotty  point,  a  foot-ball  game  is  hardly  the  proper  place  to 
put  it  in  practice.  This  habit  of  Allen's  of  talking  on  every 
occasion,  and  sometimes  when  the  occasion  was  absent,  made 
his  name  a  by-word  and  a  hissing. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  75 

We  were  not  surprised  when  our  team  revenged  them- 
selves upon  Pennsylvania  for  the  degradation  we  had  suf- 
fered at  her  hands  the  year  before,  although  the  score — four 
to  nothing — was  too  small  to  satisfy  most  of  us.  Two  of 
our  number  took  part  in  this  contest,  Blake  and  Balliett, 
and  both  did  yeoman  service.  For  the  next  three  weeks 
the  team  played  no  outsiders,  but,  locking  themselves  into 
the  'Varsity  grounds,  practiced  long  and  faithfully. 

Nobody  except  a  few  insiders,  who  knew  the  whole 
system  of  their  play,  realized  how  much  foot-ball  they 
knew,  but  the  management  deemed  it  wise  to  save  it  all  up 
and  surprise  the  anxious  thousands  on  Thanksgiving. 

As  usual,  the  College  turned  out  en  masse,  and  went  up  to 
New  York  to  support  the  team.  Many  of  us  wagered  our 
available  cash  upon  the  result,  at  odds  of  two  or  three  to 
one.  Those  who  were  not  bold,  or  whose  spare  cash  was 
numbered  in  dimes,  have  bewailed  the  golden  opportunity 
ever  since. 

Such  a  glorious  game  was  never  seen,  and  our  hearts 
were  freed  from  the  fear  of  being  the  first  class  that  ever 
graduated  without  seeing  a  foot-ball  championship  brought 
home  to  Princeton. 

Meanwhile  Managing  Editor  Sykes  and  his  ^' Lit."  board 
were  having  a  hard  time  of  it.  The  chief  had  been  styled 
"  Dame  Sykes  "  by  George  Forsyth,  and  to  add  insult  to 
injury  had  been  accused  of  treason  in  favoring  ''the  Tiger," 
of  which  he  was  also  an  editor,  at  the  expense  of  the  "  Lit." 
Bill  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  board,  and  receive 


76  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

his  sentence.  It  was  the  hvehest  meeting  ever  held  in 
that  arena  where  so  many  battles  have  been  waged,  the 
office  of  the  Nassau  Literary  Magazine.  Bill  cussed  bis 
assistants  individually  and  collectively,  and  the  favor  was 
returned  individually  and  collectivel}^  Jenkins  ejaculated 
''  Help  !  "  several  times  in  rapid  succession,  intending  to  be 
very  wicked.  '' Jenks"  don't  like  to  swear  right  out  loud, 
lest  Tower  might  hear  of  it  and  cast  bim  forth  neck  and  crop 
from  the  number  of  his  friends,  and  so  he  says  "  Help  !  " 
which  does  not  mean  anything  in  particular,  though  it 
closely  resembles  a  ver}^  expressive  term  in  sound. 

This  angered  Bill,  who  immediately  jumped  on  Paul 
Burrill  for  not  tending  to  his  owai  duties  of  keeping  the  table 
cleared  of  periodicals.  Then  everybody  put  in  his  oar,  and 
the  meeting  was  ended  by  George  Forsyth  throwing  a  torch, 
left  over  from  the  campaign,  through  the  front  window  and 
vanishing  in  a  cloud  of  brimstone,  towards  Bi'own.  This 
was  but  one  of  the  many  little  episodes  which  made  our  life 
miserable. 

In  the  Fall  track  games  the  most  stirring  event  was  the 
mile  walk.  Three  great  athletes  were  ranged  at  the  starting 
post,  all  'Ninety-four  men,  and  an  immense  amount  of 
money  had  been  placed  on  each  one  by  his  confident  friends. 

'^  Horses  "  Pratt,  Sykes,  and  Jenkins  were  the  valiant 
walkers,  and  the  ^'  outcome  "  was  involved  in  great  uncer- 
tainty, for  Pratt  had  the  best  hip  motion,  ''  Jenks"  had  the 
longest  legs,  and  Sykes  had  the  best  wind.  We  watched 
them  until  the  sun  sank  beyond  the  western  hills  and  then, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  77 

overtaken  by  the  darkness,  sadly  went  to  our  rooms,  know- 
ing that  we  would  not  be  able  to  find  the  result  m  the 
next  evening's  Princetonian. 

It  was  shortly  after  Thanksgiving  that  the  Campbell- 
Van  Cise  mill  occurred  back  of  the  Biological  Observatory. 
Cortlandt  Van  Rensellear  Edward  Van  Cise  had  been  dropped 
from  Whig  Hall  for  non-payment  of  dues,  but  still  fre- 
quented the  reading-room,  although  he  had  been  asked  to 
desist  several  times.  Finally  "Cam"  was  deputed  to  eject 
him,  and  accomplished  his  duty  with  success.  He  grasped 
Van  firmly  but  gently  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck,  and,  leading 
him  to  the  door,  landed  him  in  a  heap  at  the  bottom  of  the 
steps  with  lacerated  trousers  and  injured  feelings. 

Van  immediately  challenged  "Cam"  to  a  bare-knuckle 
fight  to  a  finish,  asking  but  ten  minutes  to  secure  a  second, 
and  upon  his  offer  being  accepted  hustled  over  to  Reunion 
and  secured  his  friend  Mud  Archer  as  his  bottle-holder, 

"Cam"  soon  appeared  on  the  scene  of  action  witii  Arm- 
strong as  his  best  man,  and  the  fray  at  once  began. 

The  exchanges  of  blows  were  brief,  rapid,  and  to  the 
point,  Van  retiring  with  two  black  eyes  and  a  bloody  nose 
as  tokens  of  the  "  Harlem  Goat's"  fistic  abilities. 

The  following  day  Van  wrote  a  note  to  "Armie,"  of 
which  the  following  is  a  verbatim  copy : — 

"  Jlr.  Armstrong  : 

"  Dear  Sir  : — You  are  a  gentleman  and  treated  me  as  a 
gentleman,  but  your  room-mate,  Campbell,  is  a  low-lived, 
dirty  mucker. 


78  HISTORY    OP    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

"  111  the  fight  last  night  he  struck  me  tliree  blows  which 
were  manifestly  unfair,  namely,  to  wit :  one  upon  the  eye, 
while  I  had  my  guards  down  ;  one  upon  the  nose,  while 
I  was  not  looking  ;  and  one  upon  the  mouth  and  from 
behind. 

"  My  outraged  honor  demands  revenge,  and  I  demand 
another  meeting  before  two  witnesses.  You  will  please  to 
consult  Mr.  Archer,  my  second,  and  make  the  necessary 
arrangements. 

''  Campbell  is  a  mucker. 

''  Respectfully, 

''  CORTLANDT    V.    R.    EdW^ARD    VaN    CiSE." 

Within  twenty-four  hours  ''  Armie  "  had  one  hundred 
and  fifty  applications  for  the  position  of  witness,  but  Cam 
has  refused  to  fight  again. 

The  departure  of  Gaddy  Drake  along  in  the  early  Fall 
was  the  occasion  of  a  love-feast  down  in  Brown,  which,  for 
the  number  participating  and  the  amount  of  whisky  con- 
sumed has  never  been  surpassed  in  the  history  of  the 
institution. 

The  boys  were  so  overcome  by  the  thought  of  his  leaving 
that  their  wails  might  be  heard  on  Nassau  Street,  and  the 
windows  were  constantly  filled  with  mourners  shedding 
large,  bitter  tears  into  the  court  below.  He  was  accompanied 
by  a  crowd  to  the  Junction,  and  many  and  various  were  the 
ways  in  which  they  manifested  their  grief.     After  kissing 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  79 

every  one  of  them  goocl-by  he  clambered  on  board  his  train 
amid  the  good  wishes  of  all  concerned. 

The  big  fire  in  celebration  of  the  victory  over  Yale  in 
foot-ball  gave  another  opportunit}^  for  the  consumption  of 
much  lic[uor.  Everybody  was  gay  and  happy,  and  the  tu- 
mult did  not  subside  till  morning. 

The  next  event  of  importance  to  us  was  the  Senior  Class 
elections.  For  days,  yea,  even  weeks,  before  this  momentous 
occasion,  little  knots  of  Seniors  might  be  seen  consulting 
upon  the  campus,  whispering  with  heads  close  together ; 
upon  the  approach  of  an  outsider  somebody  would  exclaim 
in  a  cheery  voice,  "Well,  I  guess  I'll  have  to  go  down  to  the 
room  and  get  my  mail  now,"  and  at  once  the  others  would 
decide  that  they  believed  there  was  a  letter  waiting  for 
them. 

There  were  rumors  of  plots  and  counter-plots,  of  permu- 
tations and  combinations,  until  nobody  quite  knew  who 
were  candidates  for  office  and  who  were  not.  The  politicians 
were  working  with  unusual  activity,  and  mystery  was  in  the 
air.  A  couple  of  days  before  the  important  night  the  list 
of  accredited  voters  was  announced^  and  Ave  Avere  divided 
into  sections  for  rapidity  and  accuracy  in  counting  the  bal- 
lots. Where  the  rapidity  came  in  we  could  not  exactly  see, 
for  it  was  sometimes  an  hour  and  a  half  after  the  polls  were 
closed  before  the  result  was  announced. 

Jim  Brodnax,  the  great  leader  of  cheers  and  presider  over 
College  mass-meetings,  as  our  retiring  President  took  the 
chair,  and  after  giving  us  a  few  instructions  in  regard  to 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

breaking  furniture  and  the  peace,  proclaimed  that  nomina- 
tions for  President  were  in  order. 

And  then  the  fun  began.  For  eight  hours  or  more  Ex- 
amination Hall  was  a  scene  of  confusion  and  strife  which 
beggars  description.  About  every  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
we  got  a  chance  to  cast  a  ballot,  and  in  the  interim  amused 
ourselves  as  best  we  could.  Cards  were  produced  from  coat 
pockets,  a  roulette  wheel  was  started  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  the  story  teller  limbered  up  his  memory,  and  all  sat 
down  for  an  all-night's  job  of  it. 

Some  jovial  joker  wrote  an  insulting  letter  to  ''  Smiles" 
McLeish,  and  signed  ''  Chawley  "  Rugh's  name  to  it.  Of 
course  ''Smiles"  was  enraged,  and  prepared  to  take  ven- 
geance out  of '' Chawley's"  hide. 

He  approached  the  supposed  author  of  the  scrawl^ 
and  asked  him  if  he  had  dared  to  send  him  any  such  vile 
epistle.  Chawley  was  indignant  at  the  charge,  and,  plac- 
ing one  hand  square  on  the  middle  of  his  manly  breast, 
made  an  Oriental  salaam  and  said,  "I  wrote  you  no  note, 
sir."  Nevertheless,  the  audience  would  not  accept  his  fre- 
quent repetition  of  this  sentence  as  an  apology,  and  clam- 
ored for  proof. 

A  moot-court  was  at  once  instituted,  and  the  witnesses 
were  examined  and  re-examined  by  numerous  self-ap- 
pointed attorneys  on  both  sides,  and  after  a  number  of  lofty 
flights  of  rhetoric  by  the  counsels,  the  case  was  given  to  the 
jury. 

This   self-selected   body,   after   carefully   weighing    the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '91.  81 

question  and  discussing  the  arguments  on  both  sides,  ren- 
dered the  decision  that  "  Smiles "  had  written  the  letter 
himself,  and  that  the  defendant,  on  account  of  his  persistent 
denials  of  the  crime,  should  be  publicly  kicked  from  the 
platform.  The  verdict  was  carried  out  without  loss  of 
time. 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  boys  had  gotten  sleepy,  and  had 
stretched  thejnselves  in  sweet  repose  upon  the  tables  with 
which  the  room  was  filled. 

Jack  Bushnell  conceived  the  brilliant  plan  of  dumping 
them  off,  and  with  the  aid  of  some  volunteers  did  the  trick, 
thereby  occasioning  much  profanity. 

The  roulette  wheel  coined  money,  and  the  croupier  was 
able  to  give  five  dollars  and  eighty-seven  cents,  the  profits 
of  the  evening's  play,  to  help  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
celebration  after  the  Thanksgiving  victory. 

The  meeting  finally  broke  up  at  half-past  three,  after 
electing  the  following  ofiicers  : — 

President J.  MacXaughtox  Thompson,  Xew  York. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer William  A.  Sextox,  Xew  York. 

Master  of  Ceremonies Charles  S.  McKenzie.  Xew  York. 

Class  (hxitor James  E.  Swaix,  Xew  Jersey. 

Class  Poet .    .    Edward  J.  Russell.  Xew  Jersey. 

Ivy  Orator James  S.  Campbell,  Pennsylvania. 

Historian      Robert  P.  Jack,  Illinois. 

Prophet John  H.  Turxer,  Iowa. 

Censor James  R.  Blake,  Xew  Jersey. 

Presentation  Orator L.  Irvixg  Reichxor,  Pennsylvania. 

Washington's  Birthday  Orator McCready  Sykes,  Xew  Jersey. 

Class  Debater Doxald  ^IcColl,  Xew  York. 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

The  following  Senior  Committees  were  chosen : — 

Nassau  Herald  Committee  : 

C.  G.  Hopper,  Pennsylvania,  A.  J.  Miller,  Ohio, 
H.  H.  CoNDiT,  New  Jersey,  Guy  Wilson,  Montana. 

Class  Ode  Committee  : 
J.  Fentress,  Jr.,  Illinois,  P.  P.  Bliss,  Jr.,  Pennsylvania, 

A.  E.  Holmes,  New  Jerse3^ 

Memorial  Committee : 
T.  F.  Humphrey,  New  Jersey,  M.  Sicard,  New  York, 

R.  K.  PoRTSER,  Pennsylvania. 

Class  Day  Committee: 
W.  L.  MacCauley,  New  York,  A.  R.  Chamberlain,  New  York, 

D.  M.  Balliett,  Pennsylvania,  J.  H.  Bailey,  New  York, 

G.  H.  Forsyth,  Illinois,  C.  H.  McIlwain,  Pennsylvania, 

G.  M.  McCampbell,  Ohio,  A.  D.  Jenney,  New  York, 

C.  B.  WoRDEN,  New  Jersey,  K.  George,  New  York, 

T.  D,  CoRRv,  Kentucky,  J.  McG.  White,  Pennsylvania, 

J.  Gibson,  Jr.,  New  York,  J.  M.  Brodnax,  Tennessee, 

H.  McClenehan,  Maryland. 

A  few  days  after  the  election  '^  Dean  "  Murray  made 
himself  famous  by  coming  out  in  the  Princetonian  with  a 
''  communication "  which  gave  us  all  food  for  thought. 
The  article  purported  to  be  written  as  a  kind  of  Philippic 
against  the  ring  which  he  claimed  had  ruled  the  Class  elec- 
tions. No  doubt  there  was  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  what 
"  Dean  "  said,  but  as  very  few  of  us  had  the  ability  to  un- 
ravel the  meaning  of  his  intricate  sentences  we  were  all  in 
the  dark.  Finally  Jim  Camj^bell,  having  an  off-day,  sat 
down  with  his  "  Century  Dictionary  "  and  "  Meaning  of  Phil- 
osophical Terms,"  and  after  six  hours  solid  work  compre- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  83 

hended  the  drift  of  Dean's  argument,  at  least  he  said  he  did. 
Jim  wrote  another  "  communication  "  in  reply  to  Murray's 
effusion,  which  no  doubt  accomplished  its  purpose. 

The  Christmas  holidays  being  over  we  hied  ourselves 
back  to  register,  and  were  promptly  on  hand  at  the  opening 
of  College.  Our  mid-year  examinations  were  not  the  terror 
to  us  that  they  used  to  be,  and  these  passed  by  without  dis- 
turbing our  tranquillity.  When  these  were  over  Lou  Reich- 
nor  started  to  go  down  to  Baltimore  just  for  the  trip,  but 
changed  his  mind  when  he  reached  Philadelphia,  and  came 
straight  back  to  Princeton.  He  was  a  little  unsettled  by 
the  strain  caused  upon  his  mind  by  the  examinations,  and 
was  hardly  accountable  for  his  actions. 

Washington's  Birthday  brought  a  host  of  Almuni  down 
upon  us,  and  the  Seniors  did  all  in  their  power  to  give  them 
an  enjoyable  visit.  Van  Cise  got  mixed  up  with  a  crowd 
down  in  Brown,  and  was  persuaded  to  drink  the  contents  of 
a  beer  bottle,  which  had  been  carefully  filled  with  water. 
Van  liked  it ;  didn't  care  if  he  did  take  another,  and  finally 
called  for  a  third.  The  effect  of  this  dose  upon  him  was  so 
peculiar  that  he  sat  down  at  once,  asked  for  a  pencil  and 
paper,  and  then  proceeded  to  reel  off  yards  of  poetry,  ex- 
plaining as  he  went  on  his  poetic  method. 

The  next  morning  we  reluctantly  went  over  toward  the 
gym.  to  hear  Sykes  spout  his  "  horse "  oration.  We  did 
not  care  to  go  in  very  much,  for  we  had  all  heard  Sykes 
speak  so  often  that  we  knew  just  what  he  would  say;  but  as 
we  had  elected  him  to  his  office,  and  as  he  represented  the 


84'  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

Class  in  a  way,  we  stepped  to  our  seats  with  resigned  hearts 
and  patient  faces. 

His  oration  lasted  exactly  one  hour  and  a  quarter! 

It  was  shortly  after  this  that  ^'  Mousie "  Forsyth  was 
prostrated  over  the  ''fake"  murder  of  Dick  Hatton.  George 
has  always  said  that  although  he  was  badly  taken  in  by  the 
hoax  he  did  exactly  what  was  proper  if  it  had  been  the 
real  thing,  and  really  showed  a  good  deal  of  presence  of 
mind.  George's  actions  consisted  in  shouting  "  Seize  the 
murderer  "  in  a  loud,  commanding  tone,  and  then  making 
good  his  retreat  into  the  closet.  In  his  mind  discretion  is 
the  better  part  of  valor. 

Spring  put  in  an  early  appearance  this  year,  and  seemed 
to  bring  all  the  instincts  of  horse-play  which  are  hidden  in 
our  nature  to  the  surface. 

Tops,  hoops,  and  marbles  were  our  favorite  amusements, 
and  tiring  of  these  we  would  proceed  to  have  a  little  sport 
with  Johnnie  Degnan.  What  with  chasing  empty  beer  kegs 
in  Brown,  trying  to  keep  his  star  and  the  brass  buttons  on 
his  coat  from  being  swiped,  putting  kid  muckers  and  organ- 
grinders  oft'  the  campus,  his  lot  has  been  a  very  hard  one 
this  Spring. 

Chip  McKenzie's  ball-team  started  out  unusually  well 
this  year  by  defeating  the  strong  Georgetown  University 
nine  in  two  games.  The  good  work  continued,  and  nothing 
seemed  to  be  able  to  stop  our  winning  streak.  Pennsyl- 
vania, Harvard,  and  Cornell  fell  before  our  heavy  hitters. 

Singing  on  the  steps  of  Old  North  was  our  usual  occu- 


HISTORY   OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94.  85 

patioii  in  those  warm  evenings  in  the  early  part  of  May; 
and  though  we  may  not  have  always  satisfied  our  critical 
audiences  we  enjoyed  it  hugely  ourselves,  and  as  long  as 
this  is  the  case  we  intend  to  continue.  Chip  McCampbell 
wields  his  baton  very  skillfully,  and  as  to  our  soloists  they 
are  better,  as  a  whole,  than  any  heard  from  the  steps  in  the 
past  four  years. 

The  way  Jim  Fentress  yells  his  nigger  dialect  song  is 
appreciated  by  the  College  at  large,  and  '''  Mr.  George's  little 
Dutch  song  is  just  too  cute  for  anything,"  as  a  young  lady 
remarked. 

It  is  with  the  saddest  of  hearts  that  we  are  called  upon 
to  chronicle  the  death  of  Jack  Murdoch.  The  news,  as  it 
was  telegraphed  to  a  member  of  our  Class  that  afternoon  in 
the  first  quarter  of  May,  was  an  inexpressible  shock  to  every 
man  who  knew  him.  He  had  hoped  and  expected  to  get 
back  to  be  with  us  as  we  graduate,  but  Providence  in  its 
wisdom  has  seen  fit  to  deny  us  another  sight  of  him. 

It  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  know  Murdoch  without 
admiring  his  mental  gifts,  revering  his  strong  Christian 
character,  and  loving  his  personality. 

His  religion  was  of  the  broadest  type,  and  many  a  man 
in  our  Class  upon  the  downward  path  has  been  comforted, 
aided,  and  assisted  to  a  better  life. 

Knowing  that  he  was  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and 
that  any  sudden  shock  might  break  the  slender  thread  of 
his  human  existence,  he  determined  that  while  he  lived  he 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE    CLASS    OF    '94. 

should  live  well  in  the  sight  of  God  and  of  man,  and  that 
his  mind  should  grow  even  at  the  expense  of  an  alread}^ 
enfeebled  body. 

Perhaps  from  this  rough  sketch  of  our  doings  and  our 
sayings  in  the  past  four  years  the  impression  may  have 
been  given  that  w^e  have  done  nothing  beyond  having  a 
good  time  all  the  while,  at  the  expense  of  the  broadening 
of  our  intellectual  views,  and  forming  a  speaking  acquaint- 
ance with  a  couple  of  hundred  class-mates,  whom  we  will 
forget  as  soon  as  we  get  out  in  this  busy  world. 

To  us,  as  we  spend  our  last  few  days  as  Undergraduates 
amid  the  surroundings  which  for  four  years  have  been  our 
life,  this  is  by  no  means  the  attitude  in  which  we  view  our 
college  career.  We  are  dissatisfied,  probably  every  one  of 
us,  at  the  way  in  which  we  have  wasted  our  opportunities  ; 
we  could  do  it  so  much  better  if  we  had  another  chance,  but 
nevertheless  we  have  made  friendships  which  we  believe 
will  never  be  broken;  we  have  gained  associations  which  we 
feel  will  influence  our  future  to  an  extent  beyond  estimation. 

We  believe  that  when  we  look  back  upon  college  life,  ten 
years  or  twenty  years  hence,  we  will  be  able  to  sa}^  with 
Lowell : — 

Old  friends!    The  writing  of  these  words  has  borne 

My  fancy  backward  to  the  gracious  past, 
The  generous  past,  when  all  was  possible, 

For  all  was  then  untried.    The  years  between 
Have  taught  some  sweet,  some  bitter  lessons,  none 

Wiser  than  this — to  spend  in  all  things  else, 
But  of  old  friends  to  be  most  miserly. 


Arnold. 


Latest  designs  of 

FINE   SHOES 

Constantly  on   hand   and   made  to  order. 

® 


Finest  lines  of  White  Canvas  and  Tennis  Goods. 

William  Arnold, 

240  FIFTH  AVENUE,  -  -  NEW  YORK. 

Our  prices  are  low— and  that  isn't  all.  Our 
main  business  isn't  so  much  to  make  low  prices 
for  our  clothing  as  to  make  good  clothing.  Of  all 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  garments  we  manu- 
facture in  a  year's  time,  we  can't  afford  to  let  a 
button-hole  be  misplaced  or  neglect  a  stitch. 
Don't  you  suppose  we  know  how  particular  you 
are  ?  We  want  your  trade,  with  equal  cheer,  for 
Swallow  Tail  or  Sack  Suit.  Is  there  any  harm, 
then,  in  making  our  prices  so  low  that  you  like 
them  as  well  as  you  do  our  clothes? 

Wanamaker  &  Brown, 

Sixth  and   Market,  Philadelphia. 
On  $20  purchases  we  pay  carfare  from  Princeton. 


A  WONDERFUL  BOOK  STORE 


Leary'S  Old  Book  Store, 

So  well  known  throughout  the  country,  is  the  largest,  best 
arranged,  cheapest,  and  most  complete,  as  well  as  the  most 
popular  Old  Book  Store  in  America.  The  immense  stock  of 
several  hundred  thousand  volumes,  embracing  works  in  every 
department  of  literature,  and  in  every  language— including  rare 
books,  scarce  editions,  and  choice  library  sets  of  the  standard 
authors.  We  are  daily  augmenting  our  stock  and  the  editions 
including  purchases  made  in  all  parts  of  the  country  ;  thus 
presenting  to  the  book  lover  an  ever-changing,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  largest  and  most  varied  selection  of  the  world's 
literature  to  be  found  in  the  country.  The  several  depart- 
ments are  arranged  under  their  respective  heads,  and  super- 
intended by  competent  assistants.  We  invite  every  one  to 
pay  us  a  visit,  and  spend  an  hour  inspecting  our  vast  collec- 
tion ;  information  is  cheerfully  given  without  the  inquirer  feel- 
ing under  the  slightest  obligation  to  purchase. 

Books  Bought. 

We  are  at  all  times  prepared  to  purchase  books  of  every 
description,  in  large  or  small  quantities.  Our  extensive  con- 
nection with  all  classes  of  book  buyers  throughout  America 
enables  us  to  give  the  best  possible  prices  for  books  in  all 
departments  of  literature,  Gentlemen,  executors,  and  others 
having  libraries  to  dispose  of  will  be  liberally  dealt  with. 
Every  communication  relating  to  such  will  command  our 
immediate  attention.  We  pay  cash  down  at  time  of  valuation 
(whether  the  amount  be  five  or  five  thousand  dollars). 

LEARY^S  OLD  BOOK  STORE. 
No.  9  South  Ninth  Street, 

First  Store  below  Market  Street,         -       -       PHILADELPHIA. 


PACH   BROS.. 
College  Photographers. 

935   Broadway,  New  York. 


-©- 


BRANCH    ESTABLISHMENTS: 

Cambridge,    Mass.;   New    Haven,    Conn.;    Long    Branch,    N.  .J. 
Princeton,  N.  J. 


Bellevue    Hospital    Medical    College, 

CITY    OF    NEW    YORK. 

SESSIONS     OF     1894-5. 

The  Regular  Session  begins  on  Monday,  September  24-,  1894-, 
and  continues  for  twenty-six  weeks.  During  this  session,  in 
addition  to  the  regular  didactic  lectures,  two  or  three  hours  are 
daily  allotted  to  clinical  instruction.  Attendance  upon  three 
regular  courses  of  lectures  is  required  for  graduation.  The 
examinations  of  other  accredited  Medical  Colleges  in  the  ele- 
mentary branches  are  accepted  by  this  College. 

The  Spring  Session  consists  of  daily  recitations,  clinical 
lectures  and  exercises  and  didactic  lectures  on  special  subjects. 
This  session  begins  March  27,  1895,  and  continues  until  the 
middle  of  June. 

The  Carnegie  Laboratory  is  open  during  the  collegiate  year, 
for  instruction  in  microscopical  examinations  of  urine,  practical 
demonstrations  in  medical  and  surgical  pathology,  and  lessons 
in  normal  histology  and  in  pathology,  including  bacteriology. 

For  the  annual  circular,  giving  requirements  for  graduation 
and  other  information,  address  Prof.  Austin  Flint,  Secretary 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  foot  of  East  Twenty-sixth 
Street,  New  York  City. 


The 

Equitable  Life  Assurance 

Society 

OF      N  EW    YORK. 

© 

JANUARY    1st,    1894-. 

Assets       ----------  $169,056,396- 

Reserve  and  Liabilities        ------  136,689,646 

Surplus  (for  policy  holders)     -----  32,366,750 

lncome<1893)           --------  42,022,605 

New  Assurance  Written          -----  205,280,227 

Outstanding  Assurance               _       _       -       _       _  932,532,577 

e 

NEW  JERSEY  AGENCY, 

No/ 784-  Broad  Street,  Cor.  Market  Street, 
Newark,  N.  J. 

JOHN   C.  EISELE,  Manager. 

C.  P.  NAGEL,  Cashier. 

SAMUEL  J.  KING,  General  Agent. 


The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States- 
has  a  larger  outstanding  business,  a  larger  income,  and  a 
larger  cash  surplus  than  any  other  financial  institution  of  its- 
kind   in  the  world. 

Send  your  name  and  address  for  further  particulars. 


ESTABLISHED   1818. 


Brooks  Brothers, 

Broadway,  cor.  Twenty-second  St., 
NEW    YORK    CITY, 

Clothing  and  Furnishing  Goods 

For  Men   and  Boys,  Ready  Made  and 
Made  to   Measure. 


In  the  Department  for  Clothing  to  Order  will  be  found, 
in  addition  to  a  full  line  of  seasonable  goods,  all  the  year 
round  weights  in  all  qualities,  with  a  wide  range  of  price, 
thereby    giving    the    fullest    opportunity    for    selection. 

The  particular  care  exercised  by  us  in  the  cut,  manu- 
facture, and  novelty  of  pattern  in  our  MEN'S  READY-MADE 
STOCK,  is  also  extended  to  our  CLOTHING  FOR  BOYS  AND 
CHILDREN,  and  guarantees  exclusive  style  and  the  best  of 
value  at  no  higher  prices  than  are  frequently  asked  for  gar- 
ments made  in  large  wholesale  lots  and  of  inferior  workman- 
ship. 

Our  Furnishing  Goods  embrace  a  most  complete  assortment 
of  articles  in  that  line  for  Boys  as  well  as  Men  ;  Underwear, 
Hosiery,  Gloves,  and  Neckwear  in  original  shapes  and  color- 
ings imported  by  us  from  leading  London  manufacturers  ; 
also  Lounging  Jackets,  Water-proof  Coats,  &c. 

In  this  Department  we  have  added  a  new  line  of  leather 
and  wicker  goods,  including  Luncheon  Baskets,  Holster  Cases, 
Sheffield  Plate  Flasks,  Riding  Whips,  Crops,  Dog  Canes,  and 
Golf  Sticks. 

Catalogues,  Samples,  and  Rules  for  Self-Measurement  sent 
on  application. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  111511298 


